A study, carried out in 2023 at the University of Kerbala, Iraq, aimed to assess the effects of natural and synthetic growth hormones on the vegetative characteristics of two pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars. The experiment layout had a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with factorial arrangement, two factors, and three replications. The first factor included combinations of natural and chemical growth regulators, while the second comprised stem cuttings of two pomegranate cultivars, Yamani and Bashkan. The results showed cultivar Yamani was superior for vegetative branches (4.110), the number of leaves (341) per seedling, and leaf area (988 cm²). The triple interaction of indole butyric acid (IBA 0 mg L^-1), moringa leaf (M1), and licorice root (L1) (B0M1L1) extracts provided superior performance on the average height and diameter of vegetative shoots (49.500 cm and 2.510 mm, respectively). The interaction of indole butyric acid (IBA 0 mg L^-1), moringa leaf (M1), and licorice root (L0) (B0M1L0) extracts also excelled in the average number of branches and chlorophyll content (4.670 branches seedling^-1 and 0.276 mg g^-1, respectively).

Keywords: Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.), cultivar stem cuttings, indole butyric acid, moringa leaf extract, licorice root extract, growth and physiological traits

Key findings: The pomegranate cultivar Yamani showed superiority in most traits than the other cultivar Bashkan. The interaction of natural and synthetic growth regulators (B1M1L0) was superior in seedling height, branch diameter, and leaf area. For the number of branches and leaves per seedling, the combinations B1M0L0 and B0M1L1 outshone with the highest averages, while the combination B0M1L0 led for chlorophyll content.