T. Padmalatha*, G. Satyanarayana Reddy, R. Chandrasekhar 1, A. Siva Shankar 2 and Anurag Chaturvedi 3

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1 Indian J. Agric. Res.., 48 (4) , 2014 doi: / x AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE EFFECT OF PRE PLANTING TREATMENT OF CORMS WITH CHEMICALS AND PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS ON VEGETATIVE GROWTH, FLOWERING AND POST HARVEST LIFE IN GLADIOLUS T. Padmalatha*, G. Satyanarayana Reddy, R. Chandrasekhar 1, A. Siva Shankar 2 and Anurag Chaturvedi 3 Herbal Garden, Hyderabad , India Received: Accepted: ABSTRACT The effect of thiourea (TU), salicylic acid (SA), potassium nitrate ( ) and giberellic acid ( ) with two corm soaking periods on growth, flowering and post harvest life of two gladiolus cultivars Darshan and Dhiraj was investigated during two consecutive years, and Cv. Darshan was early in flowering and performed better than the cv. Dhiraj with respect to vegetative and floral parameters. Pre-planting soaking of corms for 24 h improved vegetative and flowering attributes. SA 150 ppm followed by TU 2% was more effective in increasing vegetative growth and reducing number of days to flowering. SA 150 ppm followed by 150 ppm were effective in improving flowering performance of gladiolus cultivars in terms of increasing number of spikes per plant, spike length and weight and number of florets per spike. Post harvest studies revealed that soaking of corms for 24 h recorded significantly less number of days to first floret opening. Pre-planting treatment of corms with SA 150 ppm recorded minimum days to first floret opening, maximum number of florets opened at a time per spike and vase life. Key words: Flowering, Gladiolus, TU, SA, Vase life. INTRODUCTION Gladiolus occupies a prime position among cut flower crops which has great demand in both domestic and international market. It is grown all over the world for its majestic flower spike with brilliant coloured flowers. Gladiolus with its magnificent inflorescence in a variety of colours is of widespread use in bouquets, table decoration, stage decoration and for interior decorations. It is commercially propagated by corms. Considering the importance of popularity of gladiolus both in Indian market and outside, increasing the availability of gladiolus flower in large quantities over a wider period of the year is important. However, dormancy of corms is one of the major hindrances in the year round culti vati on of gladiolus and is more pronounced under warmer climatic conditions. In cut flower industry, the most important aspect is post harvest handling in order to maintain flower freshness for longer periods. The post harvest quality and longevity of cut flowers is dependent on several pre and post harvest factors. There are reports stating that pre-planting soaking of gladiolus corms with proved effective in enhancing growth, flowering (Roychoudhury et al., 1985, Barman and Rajni., 2004, Sharma et al., 2006 and Rajesh Bhalla and Ajay Kumar., 2007) and vase life (Vijai Kumar and Singh, 2005b, Sharma et al., 2006 and Havale et al., 2008). But, studies on the effect of some of the easily available and inexpensive chemicals like thiourea (TU), salicylic acid (SA) and potassium nitrate ( ) on growth and flowering of dormant corms of gladiolus are very meagre. For extending the vase life of gladiolus, use of sucrose in combination with aluminium sulphate (Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 ) as the holding solution has been reported by many * Corresponding author s address: gandhamlatha@yahoo.com and Address: College of Horticulture, Hyderabad , AP, India 1-2 College of Agriculture, Hyderabad , AP, India 3 College of Home Science, Hyderabad , AP, India

2 302 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH workers (Anju Pal et al., 2003, Namita et al., 2006 and Nelofar and Paul, 2008). Keeping these points in view, the effect of pre planting soaking of dormant corms with TU, SA and along with the plant growth regulator on vegetative growth, flowering and post harvest life of gladiolus cultivars Darshan and Dhiraj was investigated in the present study. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was conducted at Herbal Garden, Rajendranagar, H yderabad for two consecutive years, and In the study, two soaking periods viz., 12 h and 24 h with TU (1 and 2%), (1.5 and 2.5%), SA (100 and 150 ppm), (100 and 150 ppm) and control (water soaking) were used as pre planting corm treatments with two gladiolus cultivars Darshan and Dhiraj. There were a total of 36 treatment combinations and replicated twice in randomized block design with factorial concept. Freshly harvested and uniform sized corms of the cultivars were soaked for 12 h and 24 h separately in the respective treatment solutions. The treated corms were planted at a spacing of 30 cm x 20 cm and at a depth of 5-6 cm in the month of November as per the layout of the trial. Standard cultural practices were followed during the entire crop period. Observations on growth and flowering attributes were recorded. Data were subjected to analysis of variance as applicable to factorial randomized block design. For conducting post harvest studies, uniform sized spikes were harvested from all the experimental plots early in the morning when the basal 1-2 florets showed color break and immediately brought to the laboratory by putting them in a bucket containing water. Lower most leaves of the spikes were removed and the basal 2 cm portion was recut under water before placing them in holding solution. A solution containing sucrose (4 %) in combination with Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 (300 ppm) was used as the holding solution. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized block design (CRD) with factorial concept. There were three replications and three spikes per replication. Observations on days to first floret opening, number of florets opened at a time per spike, diameter of the second fully opened floret and vase life were recorded. Data were subjected to analysis of variance as applicable to factorial completely randomized block design. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Data from Table 1 reveals that the cv. Darshan was superior in respect of plant height (30.75 cm and cm; cm and cm) and and leaf area ( cm 2 and cm 2 ; cm 2 and cm 2 ) at 35 and 65 DAP during and respectively over cv. Dhiraj. Variation in vegetative growth of gladiolus cultivars was reported by Ram et al. (2001) and Sharma et al. (2006). Pre-planting soaking of corms for 24 h significantly improved the vegetative attributes of gladiolus cvs. Darshan and Dhiraj over 12 h soaking in both years of study. The results are in consonance with the findings of Barman and Rajni (2004), Vijai Kumar and Singh (2005a) and Ramachandrudu and Thangam (2007) in gladiolus. All the chemical treatments accelerated plant height, number of leaves and leaf area at 35 and 65 DAP over control. SA 150 ppm and TU 2% were more effective in increasing the vegetative growth during both the years. The results are in conformity with the reports of Barman and Rajni (2004) in the gladiolus cv. American Beauty with 24 h soaking of corms in TU. A perusal of data presented in Table 2 and 3 shows that Darshan was significantly superior over the cv. Dhiraj in respect of earliness in flowering (97.83 days and days), spike length (70.09 cm and cm), spike weight (55.84 g and g), inter floret length (3.80 cm and 3.75 cm) and spike longevity (15.01 days and days) during both years of study. However, cv. Dhiraj was found superior over the cv. Darshan with regard to number of florets per spike (14.04 and 13.56) in and Variation among the gladiolus cultivars in flowering performance was also reported by Prasad et al. (2002) and Al-Humaid (2003). Preplanting soaking of corms for 24 h was effective in reducing number of days to 50% flowering (89.61 and 90.67) and days to flowering (96.67 and 99.22) and increasing number of spikes per plant (1.72 and 1.68), spike length (69.74 cm and cm) and weight (55.18 g and g) during and The reason could be attributed to early sprouting of corms with 24 h soaking which coincided with favourable environmental conditions for better growth and improved floral parameters. All the treatments except control seem to have significant influence in reducing number of days to

3 Vol. 48, No. 4, TABLE 1: Effect of pre-planting chemical treatment of corms on vegetative growth in gladiolus cultivars Darshan and Dhiraj Treatment Plant height (cm) Number of leaves per plant Leaf area (cm 2 ) DAP DAP DAP DAP DAP DAP DAP DAP DAP DAP DAP DAP Darshan Dhiraj S.Em± CD at 5% N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S h soaking h soaking S.Em± CD at 5% N.S TU (1%) TU (2%) (1.5%) (2.5%) SA (100 ppm) SA (150 ppm) (100 ppm) (150 ppm) Control (Water) S.Em± CD at 5% TABLE 2: Effect of pre-planting chemical treatment of corms on flowering in gladiolus cultivars Darshan and Dhiraj Treatment Days to 50% flowering Days to flowering Per cent plants flowered (%) Darshan Dhiraj S.Em± CD at 5% N.S. N.S. 12 h soaking h soaking S.Em± CD at 5% N.S. N.S. TU (1%) TU (2%) (1.5%) (2.5%) SA (100 ppm) SA (150 ppm) (100 ppm) (150 ppm) Control (Water) S.Em± CD at 5% N.S. N.S.

4 304 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH TABLE 3: Effect of pre-planting chemical treatment of corms on floral parameters in gladiolus cultivars Darshan and Dhiraj Treatment Number of spikes Spike length (cm) Number of folrets Spike weight (g) Inter floret length Spike longevity (days) per plant per spike (cm) Darshan Dhiraj S.Em± CD at 5% N.S. N.S h soaking h soaking S.Em± CD at 5% N.S. N.S N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. TU (1%) TU (2%) (1.5%) (2.5%) SA (100 ppm) SA (150 ppm) (100 ppm) (150 ppm) Control (Water) S.Em± CD at 5% N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S.

5 50% flowering and days to flowering in the cultivars Darshan and Dhiraj. As the days for sprouting were reduced significantly by TU 2% and SA at 150 ppm, flowering was also early in these treatments. SA at 150 ppm treatment seems to have significant influence in promoting flowering. SA at 150 ppm was highly effective in increasing number of spikes per plant (1.78 and 1.85), spike length (74.75 cm and cm) and weight (56.90 g and g) and number of florets per spike (15.25 and 14.38). Number of florets per spike was in proportion to the length of the spike produced by respective treatments. A perusal of data on post harvest parameters (Table 4) indicates that the cultivars did not show significant variation with respect to number of days taken for first floret opening, number of florets opened at a time per spike, diameter of second fully opened floret and vase life during both the years. Soaking of corms for 24 h significantly took less number of days to first floret opening (1.79 and 1.75). This may be attributed to maximum growth of spikes with 24 h soaking of corms which had resulted in accumulation of more amounts of carbohydrates. The treatment SA 150 ppm recorded minimum days to first floret opening (1.56 and 1.58) and was comparable with 150 ppm (1.61 and 1.61), 1.5% (1.69 Vol. 48, No. 4, 2014 TABLE 4: Effect of pre-planting chemical treatment of corms on post harvest parameters in gladiolus cultivars Darshan and Dhiraj Treatment Days to first floret Number of florets opened Diameter of second fully Vase life (days) opening at a time per spike opened floret (cm) Darshan Dhiraj S.Em± CD at 5% N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. 12 h soaking h soaking S.Em± CD at 5% N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. TU (1%) TU (2%) (1.5%) (2.5%) SA (100 ppm) SA (150 ppm) (100 ppm) (150 ppm) Control (Water) S.Em± CD at 5% N.S. N.S and 1.72) and TU 2% (1.75 and 1.78). Pre planting soaking of corms of gladiolus cultivars in SA 150 ppm also recorded maximum number of florets opened at a time per spike (3.33 and 3.31). This might be due to the reason that the spikes from these treatments would have sufficient food material required for opening of the florets as evident from greater spike length and weight. Further, SA 150 ppm recorded significantly maximum vase life (9.19 days and 9.14 days) and was on a par with 150 ppm (8.69 days and 8.67 days). Longest vase life of spikes with pre planting soaking of corms in for 24 h has been reported by Vijai Kumar and Singh (2005b) in the cv. Congo Song, Sharma et al. (2006) in the cv. Red Beauty and Havale et al. (2008). All the chemical treatments failed to improve second floret diameter significantly during both the years of study. CONCLUSION From the above results it may be inferred that cv. Dharshan is superior over cv. Dhiraj with respect to vegetative and floral parameters under study. Preplanting soaking of corms for 24 hrs in SA 150 ppm had favourable effects on gladiolus growth, flowering and vase life. H ence, this chemical can be recommended for promoting flowering, improving spike attributes and enhancing vase life in the dormant corms.

6 306 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH REFERENCES Al-Humaid., A. I. (2003) The response of some gladioli cultivars to gibberellic acid. Egyptian Journal of Horticulture, 30: Anju Pal., Kumar., S and Srivastava., R (2003) Effect of floral preservatives on post harvest management in gladiolus spikes. Journal of Ornamental Horticulture, 6: Barman., D. and Rajni., K. (2004) Effect of chemicals on dormancy breaking, growth, flowering and multiplication in gladiolus. Journal of Ornamental Horticulture, 7: Havale., V. B., Tawar., R.V., Hage., N.D., Kakad., G. J., Fathepurkar., S.C and Sable., A. S (2008) Effect of growth regulators and chemicals on growth and flowering of gladiolus. Asian Journal of Horticulture, 3: Namita., Ramesh Kumar and Kushal Singh (2006) Response of vase solution on keeping quality of cut spikes of gladiolus. Journal of Ornamental Horticulture, 9: Nelofar and Paul., T. M. (2008) Post harvest management of gladiolus. Journal of Ornamental Horticulture, 11: Prasad A, Kumar R, Arya S and Saxena K (2002) Varietal response of gladiolus corms to dippings. Journal of Ornamental Horticulture (New Series) 5: Rajesh Bhalla and Ajay Kumar (2007) Response of plant bio-regulators on dormancy breaking in gladiolus. Journal of Ornamental Horticulture, 10: Ram D., Verma., J.P. and Verma., H.K (2001) Effect of plant growth regulators on emergence of shoots and yield of corms and cormels in gladiolus. Haryana Journal of Horticultural Sciences 30: Ramachandrudu., K. and Thangam., M (2007) Response of plant growth regulators, coconut water and cow urine on vegetative growth, flowering and corm production in gladiolus. Journal of Ornamental Horticulture, 10: Roychoudhury., Biswas., N. J., Dhula., R and Mitra., S. K (1985) Effect of chemicals on germination, growth, flowering and corm yield of gladiolus. Indian Agriculturist, 29 : Sharma., D, P., Chattar., Y. K and Nishith Gupta (2006) Effect of gibberellic acid on growth, flowering and corm yield in three cultivars of gladiolus. Journal of Ornamental Horticulture, 2: Vijai Kumar and Singh., R.P (2005a) Effect of soaking of mother corms with plant growth regulators on vegetative growth flowering and corm production in gladiolus. Journal of Ornamental Horticulture (New Series), 4: Vijai Kumar and Singh., R.P (2005b) Effect of gibberellic acid and growing medium on flowering and corm production of gladiolus. Journal of Ornamental Horticulture, 2: