Flower Spikes Research Articles

Application of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) enhances agronomic, physiological and antioxidant traits of Salvia fruticosa under saline conditions: a practical approach.

Salinity stress is a significant challenge in agriculture, particularly in regions where soil salinity is increasing due to factors such as irrigation practices and climate change. This stress adversely affects plant growth, development, and yield, posing a threat to the cultivation of economically important plants like Salvia fruticosa. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness by proactively applying indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) to Salvia fruticosa cuttings as a practical and efficient method for mitigating the adverse effects of salinity stress. The factors were arranged as three different IBA doses (0, 1, and 2 g/L) and four different salinity concentrations (0, 6, 12, and 18 dS/m) in controlled greenhouse conditions. Plant height (PH), flower spike length (FSL), fresh shoot length (FRL), root length (RL), fresh root weight (FRW), fresh shoot weight (FSW), dried root weight (DRW), dried shoot weight (DSW), root/shoot index, drog (g/plant), relative water content (RWC), relative membrane permeability (RMP), chlorophyll content (SPAD), extraction yield (%), DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), phenol content, flavonoid content, and ABTS (2,2'-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) values were measured. The results show that as salinity doses increased, all parameters showed a decline. However, with a one-time IBA application to the plant cuttings before the rooting stage, particularly at a concentration of 2 g/L, was effective for mitigating the negative effects of salinity stress. Across all measured parameters, IBA significantly reduced the adverse impacts of salinity on Salvia fruticosa.

New green-flowered <i>Aa</i> (Cranichideae) from Peru

A new species from the Peruvian Andes, Aa olivacea, is described and illustrated. Information concerning distribution, habitat, ecology, and conservation status is provided. The new species is similar to A. hieronymi by its dense spikes of dark green and brown flowers with translucent whitish floral bracts; but differs from it by its elliptic to lanceolate leaves, 60 to 100-flowered spikes, glabrous rachis, lateral sepals with the margin entire to occasionally minutely erose near the apex, petals with slightly erose to sinuate apical margin, lip unlobed with lacerate to erose margin, and ovary with scarce hairs. Furthermore, A. tenebrosa is proposed as a synonym of A. hieronymi, A. nigrescens is recognized as a distinct species from A. leucantha, and A. lehmannii is confirmed to be an illegitimate, superfluous name for A. leucantha.

Studies on Effect of Genotypes and Planting Time on Growth and Corm Characters of Gladiolus

Gladiolus is an important cut flower crop, grown commercially in many parts of the globe. This flower has gained popularity owing to its incomparable beauty, attractive colours, various sizes and shapes of florets, variable spike length and long vase life. Gladiolus produces beautiful spikes from December to March in the plains and from June to September in the hills of India.Gladiolus is very rich in its varietal wealth therefore, varietal evaluation in a particular growing condition becomes necessity of time to find out suitable variety for a particular region. Improvement of any crop is a continuous process and long process as well and, in this crop, tremendous scope is available to improve the existing cultivars, besides, other economical plants, the growth and development of gladiolus is governed by its genetic makeup and environmental factors of the growing region and various management practices. Among the various agro-techniques, the optimum planting time is of outmost importance. The Present investigation efforts aim to standard time of planting and suitability of varieties for local climate and edaphic conditions of the Nalanda (Bihar). A field investigation was conducted during winter season of 2018-19 at Research Farm of Nalanda College of Horticulture, Noorsarai, Nalanda, Bihar. Corms of gladiolus cultivars viz., Red Beauty, Candyman, White Prosperity and Intrepid were planted at different planting dates. The soils of experimental site are newly formed alluvial soils with pH 7.40. The experiment consisted of 16 treatment combinations with four (04) varieties and four planting dates (D1- 25th Sept., D2- 10th October and D3- 25th Oct. and D4-10th Nov.) were laid out in split-plot-design with three replications. Minimum days to sprouting of corm (16.33 days), number of leaves per plant (11.27), length of leaves (86.87cm.) were with D2V2. However, maximum plant height (146.07 cm.) was in D2V1. Minimum days to initiation of spike (80.47 days), days taken to open first floret (95.07 days) and maximum length of spike (126.07cm.) were observed in D2V1. On the other hand, maximum numbers of florets per spike (21.20), fresh weight of flower spike (170.25 gm.), floret diameter (11.17cm.) and vase life (14.80 days) were in D2V3. Highest values for no. of corms per plant (1.40) and no. of cormels per plant (111.53) were noticed in D2V3. Besides, corm diameter (7.53 cm) and average weight of corm per plant (123.08 gm.) were found maximum in D2V1.

Study on the Evaluation Genetic Variability of Gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus) Cultivars Under Agro –Climatic Conditions of Prayagraj

Aims: A field experiment was carried out to “Study on Evaluating Genetic Variability of Gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus L.) Cultivars under Agro –Climatic conditions of Prayagraj”. Place and Duration of Study: An experiment was carried out in the Department of Horticulture during the Rabi season of 2023-2024. Study Design: Randomized Block Design. Methodology: The analysis of the data showed that phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was higher than genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all characters studied, indicating that environmental factors had a significant influence on these characters. In addition, positive and highly significant correlations were observed in between tuber yield per plant (gm) and various other traits including the No. of leaves at 30DAS, 60DAS and 90DAS and No. of shoots per plant, days for the first flowering, peduncle length, No. of florets per spike, No. of ears per plant, length of floret, diameter of floret, No. of corms per plant and diameter of corms, weight of corms and No. of corms per hectare and No. of corms per hectare. Results: The mean sum of squares due to genotypes showed significant differences for all characters under study for except days taken for emergence of flower spike and days taken to show color of basal floret. High magnitude of GCV were recorded for No. of leaves (52.70), Corm yield/plant (46.40), No. of cormels/hectare(39.12), Cormel diameter(38.36), No. of corms/hectare(28.97), No. of corms per plant(28.97), No. of leaves at 60DAS(26.64), No. of shoot(26.64). The genotypic and phenotypic correlation coefficient of different characters with Corms yield/plant (g) and their relationship among themselves Conclusion: Genotypic and Phenotypic correlation revealed that corms weight/plant (g) showed positive significant association with plant height, number of leavesper plant, number of shoots per plant, rachis length, no. of cormels per hectare and corm yield/ plant at both levels genotypic and phenotypic.

Studies on the Impact of Spacing, Pinching and Growth Retardants on Vegetative Growth and Flowering Behaviour of Salvia

The present investigation entitled “Studies on the impact of spacing, pinching and growth retardants on vegetative growth and flowering behaviour of Salvia” was conducted at College of Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha during December 2021 to April 2022. The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with three replications, comprising of 12 treatment combinations which includes the first factor spacing with two levels i.e., S1 (20 cm x 25 cm) and S2 (25 cm x 25 cm), second factor pinching with two levels i.e., P0 (no pinching) and P1 (pinching) and the third factor application of growth retardants with three levels i.e., G0 (control), G1 (CCC @500ppm) and G2 (MH @100ppm). The findings revealed that pinching and the application of growth retardants had a greater impact on critical flowering attributes than the spacing experimented with in this study. Treatment combination S2P1G1 i.e., T11 was proved to be better and yielded significant improvements. Based on the results it was concluded that pinching and application of CCC resulted in better growth and development in salvia regarding vegetative and flowering characters. Thus, the treatment combination S2P1G1 i.e., T11 was found to be superior for vegetative growth characters like plant height, the number of branches, the number of leaves and flowering characters like the number of flower spikes per plant, length of flower spike, and length of florets.

Effect of Potting Mixture and Polybag Size on Growth and Flowering of Asiatic Lily (Lilium asiaticum var. Nashville) under Protected Condition

An experiment on recognizing the significance of cultivating lilies under polyhouse conditions, this study contributes the valuable insights to the cultivation practices of Asiatic lilies, focusing on the pivotal roles of potting mixture composition and polybag size. Healthy bulbs of each cultivar were freshly planted in various media compositions in different polybag size within a protected environment. From the present investigation, it is concluded that the treatment 12 x 12 polybag size combined with Garden soil + Vermicompost + Cocopeat (1:1:2) was found in superior among other treatments in terms of plant height (69.30cm), leaf length (8.60 cm), leaf width (3.03 cm), number of flower buds/plant (4.60), days to appearance of first flower bud (40.10), flower bud length (8.43 cm), stalk length (68.15 cm), weight of bulb per plant (64.75g), self life of flower spike (15.22 days), number of flowers per 250 m2 (10032.75). The study concluded that, the lilies readily respond to various medium for cultivation and 12 x 12 Polybag combined with potting mixture Garden soil + Vermicompost + Cocopeat (1:1:2) observed to be the best for plant growth and flowering of Asiatic lily under protected condition.

Maximizing Zygopetalum maculatum orchid yield through calcium nutrition: Unveiling calcium content and dynamics across different plant parts at different growth stages of the orchid

This study explores the pivotal yet often overlooked role of calcium (Ca) in Zygopetalum maculatum orchid cultivation. Six different treatments, featuring graded doses of Ca (ranging from 0 to 100 mg Ca L−1 nutrient solution), were used to assess the impact of Ca on growth, development, and physiological responses of the orchids. Notably, the Ca untreated control treatment (Ca0) exhibited a rapid decline in potting media pH (became acidic in reaction with time), whereas under Ca100 treatment potting media pH declined slowly and remained near neutral. Dehydrogenase activity in the potting media significantly increased under Ca100 treatment. Significant improvements in vegetative growth parameters, like, bulb length, bulb width, and leaf characteristics, were evident under Ca100 treatment compared to the Ca0 treatment. The economic yield, measured by the number of flower spikes and various floral attributes (i.e. number of florets per spike, spike length, florets size), displayed a remarkable enhancement under Ca100 treatment. The Ca100 treatment produced 100 % more number of flower spikes as compared to Ca0 treatment. The number of new shoot initiation, and overall flower biomass also substantially increased under Ca100 treatment. Ca content analysis in different plant parts revealed presence of elevated Ca concentrations in leaves, back bulbs, new bulbs, and roots under Ca100 treatment. The Ca content in back bulbs and roots decreased after flowering phase of the orchid, but the Ca levels in leaves and new bulbs remained statistically similar during both pre and post-flowering phases.These findings underscore the positive influence of Ca application on Zygopetalum maculatum orchids for enhancing its vegetative growth and economic yield. The study contributes valuable insights into Ca dynamics in different plant parts of the orchid, and recommends a 100 mg L−1 Ca application at 7-day intervals for improving Zygopetalum maculatum cultivation practices.

Potencializando o florescimento e crescimento vegetativo em Oncidium baueri Lindl. com a aplicação de ácido giberélico: aspectos fisiológicos em destaque

Abstract Plant regulators are studied because they can alter commercially significant aspects of plant growth. Gibberellic acid (GA3) exemplifies this, as it plays a crucial role in the growth and flowering processes of various vegetables. Thus, the present study sought to verify the effects caused by the exogenous application of different doses of the plant regulator GA3 on the floral, vegetative, and physiological patterns of the orchid Oncidium baueri. The experimental treatments (T1; T2; T3; T4; and T5) had 10 replicates, each containing one plant, with the respective sprayed doses: 0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg L-1 of GA3. The parameters measured were: pseudobulb length (PL) and width (PW), leaf length (LL), leaf width (LW), number of leaves per plant (NL); time for flower spike to sprout (TFSS), time for flowers to open fully (TFOF), and time for flowers to fall (TFF), these measured in days; flower stem length (FSL), number of flowers per stem (NFS), chlorophyll a fluorescence (fv/fm), and stomatal conductance (G s ). Data were compared using the Tukey test at a significance of 5%. The concentration of 200 mg L-1 of GA3 increased PL and LL by 3 cm on average, and NL showed an increasing trend with treatment 4 compared to doses other than 0 mg L-¹. Regarding floral aspects, this same dose showed the lowest TFSS, distinguishing itself from the other treatments. For physiological parameters, this dose also resulted in higher fv/fm (0.826) and G s (65.340 mmol m-2 s-1). Therefore, the use of 200 mg L-1 of GA3 is recommended for O. baueri plants to optimize vegetative and floral promotion.

Effect of shading, organic fertilizer and Gibberellic acid on the flowering growth of (Lavandula angustifolia) growing in Kalar city

The experiment was conducted in the city of Kalar for the period from April 1, 2022 to September 1. The experiment included three factors. The first factor is the percentage of shading at two levels open field and 50% lath house. The second factor was organic fertilizer for poultry (Penguin) at three levels (0, 25, 50) gm.plant-1, and the third factor was spraying with Gibberellic acid at three levels (0, 250, 500) mg. L-1. The experiment was designed according to a completely randomized design (R.C.B.D.). The results showed the following. The 0% shading treatment had a significant effect on the characteristics of the number of flower clusters (19,836 clusters per plant), the length of the flower clusters (23,327 cm), the length of the flower (7,768 cm), and the fresh weight of the flower. Inflorescence (0.390 g), and the number of flowers in one inflorescence (36,095 flowers. Pink inflorescence. Plant-1). As for the effect of organic fertilizer (Penguin), both concentrations (25 and 50 gm Plant-1) had a significant effect. Characteristics of flower spike length (23.239 and 23.217 cm). Inflorescence length (6.699, 7.133 cm), inflorescence fresh weight (0.292, 0.298 g), and number of flowers in inflorescence (30.438, 30.715 flowers. inflorescence. plant-1), respectively. As for the effect of spraying with Gibberellic acid, the concentration treatment (250 and 500 mg L-1) significantly affected the length of the flower spike (22.812 and 23.215 cm). Respectively, treatment with 250 mg.L-1 significantly affected the length of the inflorescence (6.977 cm) and the number of flowers per inflorescence (30.656 flowers.Flower-1).

A Minireview on Medicinal Benefits of Melaleuca viminalis and Tabebuia rosea

From plants, novel chemotherapy medicines can be derived. Ancient medicinal herbs were used to heal illness, and prevent epidemics. Tropical and subtropical Central and South American tree Tabebuia rosea is grown globally. For centuries, the tree's anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antibacterial, immune-boosting, and antioxidant qualities have treated numerous maladies. Little, bushy Callistemon (Melaleuca viminalis) has lanceolate leaves and hairy blooms. It features crimson "bottlebrush" inflorescences, thicker, leatherier leaves, and darker, fissured bark. This Callistemon species sheds seeds annually, unlike others. Spring and summer bottlebrushes develop multi-flower spikes. Flower pollen grows on a fine, multi-coloured thread. Filaments and pollen can tint flower spikes golden, although yellow is more typical. Each flower produces a woody fruit with many small seeds that lasts for years. Callistemon leaves are antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-platelet aggregation. Hence, this article briefly addresses the two medicinal plants (Melaleuca viminalis and Tabebuia rosea) in Bengaluru's Agara lake.

Bioactive Constituent and Eugenol Synthase 1 Gene of Thai Red Holy Basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum L.)

Red holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum L.) is a commonly grown herb crop with diverse cultivars/accessions that contain highly ranked bioactive substances for medicinal potentialities. In this study, bioactive constituents and eugenol synthase 1 (EGS1) were characterized in Thai red holy basil. The compositions of the bioactive distilled from dried and fresh leaves and dried flower spikes were determined using headspace–solid phase microextraction–gas chromatography. Furthermore, a full-length of putative EGS1 was cloned from Thai red holy basil leaf tissue. The open reading frame of EGS1 contained 945 bp and encoded a 314-amino acid sequence. Phylogenetic analysis clearly distinguished two homology classes of EGS. EGS1 of red holy basil was closely related to that of white holy basil and lemon basil. Additionally, EGS1 expression in leaf tissue at the flowering stage was further assessed in ten local red holy basil accessions. EGS1 transcript levels were high, especially in aroma-rich accessions. EGS1 was expressed at higher levels in leaves than in flower spikes. Our study characterizes red holy basil in terms of both biochemical and gene information. This information can be used for further studies focusing on gene editing to increase the production of high-quality Thai red holy basil for the food and pharmacological industries.

Фармакогностическое исследование сырья Tripleurospermum inodorum (L.) Sch. Bip.

Введение новых видов растений в медицинскую практику требует проведения фармакогностического исследования, в том числе определение макро- и микроскопических показателей растительного сырья.В статье изложены результаты анатомо-морфологического исследования надземных органов трехре-берника непахучего (Tripleurospermum inodorum (L.) Sch. Bip.), собранного в природных условиях в фазе цветения. Растение проявляет антикоагулянтные свойства, обладает мягчительными, спазмоли-тическими и анальгезирующими свойствами, а также проявляет антибактериальную активность. По итогам анализа морфологических и анатомических показателей трехреберника непахучего определе-ны диагностические признаки сырья на макро- и микроскопическом уровнях. Так, на макроскопиче-ском уровне определены следующие признаки: форма, цвет стебля с поверхности и цвет на изломе;форма и степень рассечения листовой пластины, форма конечных долек листочков; форма цветочной корзинки, особенности строения листочков обвертки, цветоложа; строение и форма трубчатых и колокольчатых цветков. На микроскопическом уровне признаки сырья Tripleurospermum inodorum следующие: форма и структура стебля, размещение основных тканей; форма и строение клеток эпидермиса венчика цветка и листочков обвертки, расположение вместилищ и эфирно-масличных железок. Полученные результаты могут войти в проект нормативных документов на растительное сырье данного вида.

Detection of Male and Female Litchi Flowers Using YOLO-HPFD Multi-Teacher Feature Distillation and FPGA-Embedded Platform

Litchi florescence has large flower spikes and volume; reasonable control of the ratio of male to female litchi flowers is the key operational aspect of litchi orchards for preserving quality and increasing production. To achieve the rapid detection of male and female litchi flowers, reduce manual statistical errors, and meet the demand for accurate fertilizer regulation, an intelligent detection method for male and female litchi flowers suitable for deployment to low-power embedded platforms is proposed. The method uses multi-teacher pre-activation feature distillation (MPFD) and chooses the relatively complex YOLOv4 and YOLOv5-l as the teacher models and the relatively simple YOLOv4-Tiny as the student model. By dynamically learning the intermediate feature knowledge of the different teacher models, the student model can improve its detection performance by meeting the embedded platform application requirements such as low power consumption and real-time performance. The main objectives of this study are as follows: optimize the distillation position before the activation function (pre-activation) to reduce the feature distillation loss; use the LogCosh-Squared function as the distillation distance loss function to improve distillation performance; adopt the margin-activation method to improve the features of the teacher model passed to the student model; and propose to adopt the Convolution and Group Normalization (Conv-GN) structure for the feature transformation of the student model to prevent effective information loss. Moreover, the distilled student model is quantified and ported for deployment to a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-embedded platform to design and implement a fast, intelligent detection system for male and female litchi flowers. The experimental results show that compared with an undistilled student model, the mAP of the student model obtained after MPFD feature distillation is improved by 4.42 to 94.21%; the size of the detection model ported and deployed to the FPGA-embedded platform is 5.91 MB, and the power consumption is only 10 W, which is 73.85% and 94.54% lower than that of the detection models on the server and PC platforms, respectively, and it can better meet the application requirements of rapid detection and accurate statistics of male and female litchi flowers.

Response of preservative chemicals on the shelf life of cut lilium (Lilium spp.) flower cv. ‘Pavia’

Lilium cut flowers have commercial importance and extending their vase life is vital. An increase in the vase life quality and quantity can directly increase the viability and price realization of commercially important flowers like lilium. Shelf life of cut lilium flower is influenced by using different preservative chemicals and sucrose added in vase solution. Such an extension of vase life can be achieved via chemical treatment. The trial was carried out to examine the effect of various concentration of two chemicals, AgNO3 (silver nitrate) and 8-HQC (8-Hydroxyquinoline citrate) along with sucrose on the shelf life of lilium cut flower cv. ‘Pavia’ (cross between Asiatic and Longiflorum lilies). In the experiment, sucrose (20%), 8-HQC at 3 concentrations (100, 150, 200 ppm) and AgNO3 at 3 concentrations (50, 75, 100 ppm) and water (distilled) as control were tested alone and with combinations. Cut flowers of lilium were treated at one bud opening stage. The trial was carried out in a completely randomized design (CRD) having 16 treatments and one control in three (3) replications. The fresh weight and relative fresh weight of the cut flower spike, opening of all flowers on a spike, vase solution uptake on a day, total vase solution uptake and vase life of lilium cut flower spike showed the best outcome with AgNO3 (50 ppm) and 20% sucrose treatment combination. Out of the two chemicals, silver nitrate showed better results than 8-HQC as a preservative in enhancing the shelf life of cut Lilium flower cv. ‘Pavia’. Analysis of this new and exciting method will be useful to research institutes, commercial producers, wholesalers, retailers, consumers or anyone to choose right chemical and concentration of holding solution to maximize the post-harvest life of lilium cut flowers.

Influence of gamma radiation on growth, flowers and morphological changes in Gladiolus

An experiment was conducted at Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture Technology And Sciences, Allahabad in the year 2017-2018 to check the effect of different doses of Gamma radiation (0kR, 1.5kR, 3kR, 4.5kR, and 6kR) on corms of three different gladiolus cultivars namely Praha, Tiger flame, and Snow Princess, it was established that till 3 kR most of the characters were stimulated but started to sink from 4.5kR. However, 6kR treated corms produced leathery and narrower leaves with shorter plant height (57.41 cm), less leaf number (6.75), less sprouts/corm (1.57), and least spikes/plant (1.14) with an abnormal spike. While 1.5 kR treatment proved the most beneficial for various growth parameters including Plant height (87.21cm), the number of leaves (10.76), early sprouting (14.40 days), Early flowering (72.37 days), Longest flower spike (75.41 cm) and more spikes per plant (2.90). Among the Cultivars Tiger flame and Praha were found to respond well to lower doses of gamma radiation and consider being more suitable for gamma treatment. Moreover, discolor basal floret was found in Praha in 1.5kR treated corms, and Chimera was found on Tiger Flame variety at 3kR

The effect of inflorescence display size and flower position on pollination success in two deceptive and one rewarding orchid.

Inflorescence display size and flower position on the inflorescence play important roles in plant reproduction, in the formation of fruits and are primarily linked to pollinator behaviour. We used three orchids to determine how visitation rates and choice of pollinator depend on number and position of the flowers along the inflorescence. We measured reproductive success in (1) natural conditions, (2) hand-pollination experiments and (3) an experimental design, by modifying composition of inflorescences in populations of two deceptive orchids, Orchis anthropophora and O. italica, and one rewarding orchid, Anacamptis coriophora subsp. fragrans. There were no differences in natural fruit production in relation to flower position on the inflorescence (i.e. upper versus lower part), suggesting no preference of pollinators for different parts of the inflorescence. Hand-pollination experiments highlighted low pollen limitation in A. coriophora subsp. fragrans but high limitation in O. italica and O. anthropophora. Reproductive success of deceptive orchids in experimental plots decreased significantly when flowers on the upper half of the inflorescence were removed leading to reduced floral display, while reproductive success of the nectariferous species did not differ significantly. Our data highlight that in the examined orchids there is no clear relationship between fruit formation and flower position along inflorescences. Thus we can affirm that, for orchids, the entire inflorescence plays a dominant role in insect attraction but the part of the flower spike does not influence the choice of the insect. This implies that all flowers have the same possibility of receiving visits from pollinators, and therefore each flower has the same opportunity to set fruit.

Keiki induction by cytokinin on Phalaenopsis spp.

A Keiki is the product of asexual propagation which naturally develop at the node of a flower stalk or cane. Phalaenopsis produce Keiki along the middle to end nodes on the flower stalk. Although keikis are an inefficient way to propagate orchids on a commercial scale, it is interesting to study the cytokinin hormone Benzyl Aminopurine (BAP) effect to stimulate keikis on a node along the flower stalk. Two nodes of each flower stalk were used in this experiment. Cytokinin hormone (0 mg L−1 , 2 000 mg L−1 , 4 000 mg L−1 , 6 000 mg L−1 BAP) was only applied once to the second, third, fourth, and fifth nodes of the flower stalk base. The Keiki raised from the second and third nodes of the flower stalk while the flower spike raised from the fourth to sixth basal. BAP stimulated bud break on the node of the flower stalk and could produce either flower spike or keikis depending on node position from the basal node of the flower stalk.

Effect of Nanochitosan and Biocapsules on Growth, Flowering and Flower Yield of Gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus L.) Var. Priscilla

An experiment on Gladiolus was conducted during November 2021 to March 2022, in Horticulture Research Field, Department of Horticulture, Naini Agricultural Institute, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, and Technology & Sciences, Prayagraj (U.P) India. The results of the investigation, regarding the performance of the 10 Treatments of Gladiolus i.e. T0 Control NPK (RDF)-120:150:150 Kg/ha, T1 Biocapsule 200 ppm, T2 Biocapsule 400 ppm, T3 Biocapsule 600 ppm, T4 Nanochitosan 50 ppm, T5 Nanochitosan 100 ppm, T6 Nanochitosan 150 ppm, T7 Nanochitosan 50 ppm & Biocapsule 200 ppm, T8 Nanochitosan 100ppm & Biocapsule 400 ppm, T9 Nanochitosan 150 ppm & Biocapsule 600 ppm to find out the best performance in terms of growth, flowering and flower yield. The experiment was conducted in Randomized Block design, were each treatment replicated thrice the results from the present investigation concluded that in terms of growth and yield treatment the treatment T7 (Nanochitosan 50 ppm & Biocapsule 200 ppm) was recorded with maximum number of flower spike (4.71 lakhsspike/ha) & corms yield (4.81 lakhs/ha)The treatment T7 was also recorded with highest net profit (3023506) with maximum cost benefit ratio (4.85).whereas in terms of shelf life the treatment T8 Nanochitosan 100 ppm& Biocapsule 400 ppm recorded with maximum shelf life.

Evaluation of ethylene mutant snapdragon lines for rooting, gravitropism, 1-MCP, ethylene, and vase-life responses

This study was undertaken to assess morphological characteristics of rooting, gravitropism, floral fitness, ethylene tolerance, and vase-life of 16 ethylene mutants of snapdragon, generated via seed mutagenesis of the inbred line OAK564 with ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS). This included screening of seedlings of ethylene mutant lines for rooting response following challenge by different levels of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC), gravitropic response of seedlings and mature flowering spikes, seedling response following treatment of greenhouse plants with ethylene, as well as challenge of mature flowering spikes with ethylene along with and without an application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), a known inhibitor of ethylene action, as well as vase-life evaluations of mature flowering spikes. These mutant lines displayed varied responses for all treatments, with some lines exhibiting enhanced rooting, gravitropism, floral fitness, ethylene tolerance, and longer vase-life than the inbred control OAK564. For all evaluations, these mutants exhibited genetic variability for these various traits; thus, offering opportunities for further breeding efforts to improve these important economic traits in cut snapdragon.

Salicylic Acid Enhances the Vase Life and Improves the Postharvest Attributes ¬¬— A Case Study of Antirrhinum majus L.

Antirrhinum majus L. is one of the most significant ornamental plants in the international flower industry, but has a relatively limited vase life, as evidenced by petal abscission and flower spike bending. The current study focuses on examining the efficacy of salicylic acid on the vase life and postharvest attributes of A. majus flower spikes. The spikes with the oldest floral bud at one day before anthesis stage were harvested and divided into 4 sets, with one set of spikes held in distilled water (DW) designated as control. The remaining three sets were supplemented with various concentrations of SA viz., 1, 2 and 3 mM. Among the concentrations studied, 2 mM was found to be the most promising SA concentration for increasing the postharvest performance of flowers of A. majus cut spikes. The enhanced vase life of A.majus spikes was characterised by increased floral diameter, a higher membrane stability index and elevated levels of total phenols and sugars as compared to the control. SA has been proven to suppress protein degradation and lipoxygenase activity during the vase life of flower spikes. Furthermore, SA-treated flower spikes with enhanced postharvest properties were shown to have higher levels of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase activity.