Cultivation of tuberose in pot and field with humic acid treatments under a semi-arid climate

Abstract

In order to find a suitable way for tuberose cultivation in cool and dry climates and study the effects of humic acid on growth, a factorial experiment was carried out based on a complete block design with three replications. Tuberose cv. Double was cultivated in two culture systems, i.e. field and pot. Three levels of humic acid (0, 2.5 and 5 kg/ha) were applied. Results showed that number of bulbs, number of side bulblets and main bulbs weight were significantly increased in the field culture system in comparison with greenhouse. However, characteristics such as leaf area, floret diameter, bud diameter, rachis length and flowering percentage were significantly higher in pot culture. Humic acid application (2.5 and 5 kg/ha) improved some of the important characteristics such as flowering percentage in pot system and main bulb weight and total bulbs weight in field cultivation. Application of humic acid in pot culture was found as suitable cultivation system to enhance the flowering percentage. However, field culture system was more effective in bulb production.