The use of different growing media offers a valuable alternative to the conventional use of soil for quality flower production due to their good water holding capacity, aeration and nutrient status. The experiment was conducted in a Completely Randomised Design with three replications in the years 2021–2022 to study the influence of different compositions of growing media [Soil, Sand, Vermicompost, Cocopeat, Vermiculite, Perlite and Leaf mould] in different ratios on the growth and development of pot mum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.).The growing media compositions of cocopeat, vermicompost and leaf moulds improve the water retention and aeration of media. The results revealed vegetative growth with maximum plant height at first bud appearance, plant height at harvesting stage, number of primary branches per plant, number of secondary branches per plant, number of leaves per plant, leaf biomass, average fresh weight of leaf, dry weight of root and flowering parameters with maximum flower longevity, flower diameter, number of flowers per plant, number of ray florets, average fresh weight of flower, flower yield per plant and vase life of flower in case of media composition of Cocopeat + Vermicompost + Leaf mould (2:1:1) among all the growing media compositions. The combination of cocopeat with vermicompost and leaf mould (2:1:1 v/v/v) was found best for lighter media weight, better plant morphological development and sustained quality flower production of pot mum.

An experiment was carried out to evaluate twelve varieties of gladiolus (Gladiolus hybridus Hort.) for economically important traits under Bundelkhand conditions of Uttar Pradesh during the year 2016-17. Results revealed that variety Snow Princess took minimum days to spike emergence (88.67 days) and opening of first floret (107.33 days). Plant height (102.65 cm), spike length (68.10 cm) and rachis length (52.27 cm) also recorded maximum in Snow Princess. Number of florets per spike was found maximum in Nicole (15.47) whereas floret size was recorded maximum in Fidelio (10.70 cm). General mean was found maximum for days taken to opening of first floret (110.33). Moderate values for PCV and GCV were recorded in rachis length (19.97 and 15.90). However, maximum heritability value was recorded in floret size (78.96%).

IJPAB - 2018 Volume 6, issue 1

A field experiment was conducted at Banda University of Agriculture & Technology, Banda during 2020–21 to study the effect of plant growth regulators on growth, flowering and corm production in gladiolus under Bundelkhand conditions. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. The treatments comprised of different concentrations of GA₃ (100 ppm, 150 ppm & 200 ppm) and NAA (50 ppm, 100 ppm & 150 ppm). The plant growth regulators were applied as corm dip treatment and as foliar spray at 3-leaf stage and 6-leaf stage. Analysis of results revealed that the application of GA₃ @ 200 ppm corm dip + 200 ppm foliar spray significantly improved all economically important parameters viz. days taken to 50 percent sprouting of corms (15.00 days), plant height at 3-leaf stage (41.28 cm) and 6-leaf stage (51.96 cm), days taken to spike emergence (93.43 days), days taken to full opening of first floret (110.20), floret diameter (12.34 cm), duration of flowering (18.06 days), number of corms per plant (1.26) and weight of cormels per plant (17.37 g) whereas GA₃ @ 150 ppm corm dip + 150 ppm foliar spray recorded maximum number of florets per spike (12.80), spike length (87.30 cm), rachis length (47.86 cm), vase life (8.33 days), number of cormels per plant (43.52), corm diameter (5.37 cm) and weight of corm per plant (37.58 g).

A field experiment was conducted to estimate genetic variability, heritability and correlation among the economically important characters in gladiolus varieties at the Instructional Farm, College of Horticulture, BUAT, Banda. The healthy and uniform sized corms (4 to 5 cm) were planted at a spacing of 30 × 20 cm in each row at a depth of 5-6 cm. Before planting, corms were dipped in captan (0.2%) solution for 25-30 min as a preventive measure against Fusarium wilt disease. The varieties showed significant variability (p < 0.05) for days taken to spike emergence (66.67-86.69 days), days taken to opening of first floret (86.21-101.80 days), plant height (74.93 to 105.47 cm), spike length (67.07 to 89.93 cm), rachis length (33.89 to 55.64 cm), water uptake (17.33-46.67 ml), corm weight (39.97 to 100 g) and number of cormels per plant (4.47-41.97). Phenotypic coefficient of variation and genotypic coefficient of variation were high for the traits studied, except days taken to spike emergence, days taken to opening of first floret and corm diameter. High broadsense heritability value was found for number of corms per plant (90.64 %), corm weight (76.09 %) and days taken to opening of first floret, indicating the presence of additive gene effects. Positive correlation was found between days taken to spike emergence and days taken to opening of first floret (r = 0.880**); number of leaves per plant (r = 0.543*), plant height (r = 0.560*) and corm weight (r = 0.515*). Bangladesh J. Bot. 51(4): 705-712, 2022 (December)

Chrysanthemums are popular worldwide due to their beautiful range of colors, shapes, and flower sizes. Since they are in high demand during the off seasons, the present investigation was carried out on the effect of covering materials on off-season flower production of chrysanthemums during 2022-23. The covering materials used in the experiment included tarpaulin and three cultivars, each of standard and spray type. In the present investigation, the profitability of six chrysanthemum flower cultivars i.e. White Star, Yellow Star, Purnima, Surf, Apricot Parasol, and Wellspring White were assessed under two types of covering materials i.e. HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) and Tarpaulin. The results show that Yellow Star (2.08) with HDPE as a covering material performs best in w.r.t. return on investment followed by Surf (2.01). In contrast, the cultivar Wellspring White has the lowest BCR of 1.38. The cultivar White Star (1.92) and Apricot Parasol (1.65) have moderate BCRs. The results further showed that the cultivar Yellow Star has the highest BCR value among others when HDPE is used as a covering material. The study also presents the yield and profitability of these cultivars under Tarpaulin covering. Yellow Star (1.64) has the maximum BCR, followed by white Star (1.25) which was almost twice that of Purnima (0.88). Surf and Apricot Parasol also have typical BCRs (0.94 and 0.81, respectively), while Wellspring White has a minimum BCR of 0.73. Finally, the study revealed that Yellow Star is the most beneficial variety in terms of yield and return under both HDPE and Tarpaulin, followed by White Star and Purnima. These results provide valuable insights for both cut flower farms and investors, highlighting the significance of cultivar choice and covering material type when making investment or resource allocation decisions.