Development and yield of cormels gladiolus plant stimulated with paclobutrazol

Abstract

The application of paclobutrazol compounds in several types of horticultural crops is effective in stimulation the growth and development of tubers. Gladiolus plant (Gladiolus hybridus) is one of the ornamental plants that produce bulbs or corm and cormels as reproductive organs. The development of corm and cormels gladiolus plants has been stimulated by the concentration of paclobutrazol compounds through soil surface flushing after flowers are harvested, namely at the age of 66 days after planting. Using the single factor Randomized Block Design method with four concentration levels of pacrobutrazol compounds as treatment, namely, 0 mgL-1, 50 mgL-1, 100 mgL-1, and 150 mgL-1. Corm and cormels development was observed destructively in sample plants at regular intervals of five days as many as eight times, starting after a week of watering consisting of variable responses to the development of the corm diameter, the development of the number of cormels, the development of the diameter of the cormels, and the development of the plant root ratio. The data obtained are suspected according to regression fingerprints, and the curves obtained are compared with squeeze and alignment tests. The results showed that the diameter of the corm, the diameter of the cormels, and development of the plant root ratio treated with paclobutrazol compounds were better than without treatment, but the application of paclobutrazol treatment had no effect on the number of cormels. Obtained cormels with a diameter of > 1.5 cm is the desired final goal in this study, because the cormels have economic value as planting material to produce larger corm, then the next can be used as planting material to produce flowering corms.