Abstract :
Tulip is an important and highly valuable flower of the cut flower industry. The most critical step in its cultivation is to break dormancy in order to initiate the growth, especially in slightly warmer areas of the world. Therefore, current research work was designed to break dormancy and foster growth of the Tulip in Potohar region with the help of different primers. Objective of this study was the selection of best primer in appropriate concentration to be used for effectively enhancing growth, yield and vase life of the flower. Tulip bulbs were treated with different primers: T0 (Distilled water), T1 (Chitosan @ 5 g/l), T2 (Gibberellic acid @ 0.15 g/l), T3 (Humic acid 160 g/l), T4 (Imidacloprid 19 g/l) and T5 (salicylic acid 0.1 g/l) for 24 hours respectively. The experiment was laid out using Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. Statistical results revealed that characteristics including early germination, plant height, number of leaves, stalk length, fresh and dry weight of flower, weight of bulbs, diameter of bulbs and number of daughter bulbs were significantly increased in T2. Whereas, leaf area, diameter of stem and flower were maximum in T0. Plants under T3 showed increase in chlorophyll content of leaves. While floral characteristics like early formation and opening of flower bud, more number of flowers and vase life were improved in T1. Thus, statistical results showed that priming can effectively help to enhance morpho-physiological attributes of Tulip.
Keyword :
Tulip; Primers; Dormancy; Chitosan; Gibberellic acid; Humic acid; Imidacloprid; Salicylic acid