Effect of various potassium levels on growth and development of different gladiolus cultivars
By: Gulzar Ullah, Gohar Ayub, Mohammad Ilyas, Imran Habib Khan, Mohammad Asad Hussain,Fawad Naeem, Luqman, Muhammad Imtiaz Khan
Key Words: Gladiolus, Spike, Floret, Potassium, Corm
Int. J. Biosci. 8(5), 45-49, May 2016.Generate Certificate]
An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of various potassium levels on growth and development of different gladiolus cultivars at the University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan during 2012. Three cultivars of gladiolus namely Balance, White Prosperity and FlevoBreezer and different levels of potassium (0, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha-1) were used to investigate suitable cultivar, optimum level of potassium and its interaction in gladiolus. Cultivars were significantly different regarding days to spike emergence, spike length, number of florets spike-1, days to first floret opening and size of corms. Cultivar Balance proved to be superior regarding spike length (71.84 cm), florets spike-1 (12.13) and size of corms (4.87 cm). Cultivar FlevoBreezer showed significant earliness in spike emergence (67.27 days) and first floret opening (81.10 days). Potassium levels significantly affected days to spike emergence, spike length, number of florets spike-1, days to first floret openingand size of corms. Potassium at the rate of 150 kg ha-1 significantly increased spike length (71.67 cm), florets spike-1 (11.53) and size of corms (4.83 cm) which was not significantly different from that of 200 kg ha-1 K.Cultivar Balance supplied with 150 kg ha-1 K significantly increased spike length (76.87cm), florets spike-1 (13.47) and size of corms (5.21 cm). Cultivar Balance and White Prosperity supplied with 150 kg ha-1 K are recommended for production of gladiolus in Peshawar.