Impact of nutrient management on yield and yield attributing traits of gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii L.) growing under protection

Abstract

Gerbera is a flower of choice which is grown widely all across the world. Though quality accounts utmost importance beside quantity therefore feeding the plants with balanced combination and concentration of both major and micronutrients is a must. The present experiment entitled “Impact of nutrient management on yield and yield attributing traits of Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii L.) growing under protection” was executed under polyhouse condition. This experiment was conducted following Randomised Block Design with three replications & twelve treatments including a control. Result of the investigation envisaged that the nutrient combination NPK 20:20:20 @15g/10 ltr + Multiplex General Liquid @0.2% (T12) performed best for the parameters like plant height (31.87 cm), leaf area (204.53 cm2), flower stalk length (46.50 cm), diameter of flowering head (10.84 cm), vase life of cut flowers (6.70 days) and chlorophyll content of leaves (73.02). However, the plants treated with NPK 20:20:20 @15g/10 ltr + Power Bio-20 @0.2% (T11) exhibited significant increase in parameters like number of leaves per plant (37.67), number of suckers per plant (3.20), flower stalk diameter (5.70 mm) and flower neck diameter (3.45mm). On the other hand, the nutrient combination NPK 20:20:20 @15g/10 ltr + ZnSO4 @0.2% + MnSO4 @0.2% (T6) resulted in maximum plant spread (54.53 cm) and number of flowers per plant (3.63).