Effect of gibberellic acid on flowering and cut flower yield in gerbera under protected condition

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of gibberellic acid on flowering and cut flower yield in gerbera cv. ALCOCHETE under protected condition using various gibberellic acid levels viz., GA3 at 50, 100 and 150 ppm. The experiment was conducted in Completely Randomized Block Design with three replications. The results revealed that GA3 at 100 ppm performed better for flowering span (138.75 days), length of flower stalk (54.32 cm), flower stalk thickness (6.28 cm), number of ray florets per flower (189.67). In case of yield parameters, the same treatment was found better for fresh and dry weight of cut flower (40.99 and 13.49 g, respectively), number of cut flowers per plant (8.02), per square meter (80.20) and yield of flowers (16.04 lacs/ha). Whereas, GA3 at 150 ppm recorded the lowest number of days to the appearance of first flower bud and opening the first flower (50.98 and 57.57 days, respectively), diameter of flower (11.37 cm), longevity (15.29 days) and vase life (10.00 days). While, GA3 at 50 ppm was found for poorest response in all parameters.