An experiment was conducted to study the effect of graded concentrations of foliar applied growth retardants (cycocel and B-nine) on the growth and flowering of Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. Flirt. Uniform rooted cuttings raised in pot soil culture received spray applications of growth retardants viz., cycocel and B-nine prepared in 0.1% Tween 80. Cycocel was applied at 1000, 2500 and 5000 mgL -1 , whereas B-nine was applied at 100, 250 and 500 mgL -1 concentrations. Plants were sprayed at 2 and 6 weeks after transplantation. Visual observations, plant height, fresh mass, dry mass, number of laterals, number of inflorescences and inflorescence diameter were recorded at periodic intervals. Cycocel treated plants recorded a significant increase in fresh and dry mass of whole plants, leaves and roots, whereas B-nine treated plants were comparable with the controls. Cycocel and B-nine treated plants showed early emergence of buds and inflorescences, whereas no significant effect was recorded on number of laterals. Cycocel application resulted in the increase in inflorescence number. The present results suggest that the treatment effect may be cultivar dependant as many other cultivars of chrysanthemums have been chemically tailored with desired effects using cycocel and B-nine.

Microscopic plant parasitic nematodes are round worms that feed on plants and damage them. The most common and serious amongst the nematodes is the root-knot nematode found throughout the country with a very wide host range of cultivated crops. Brinjal (Solanum melongena) crop yield is considerably reduced by root-knot nematodes particularly Meloidogyne incognita. Root-galls of brinjal caused by Meloidogyne incognita can be controlled effectively by using the bio-agents and botanicals which in turn increases the yield and plant growth. Present study explored the effect of leaf extracts of certain plants on the root-knot development, plant growth and nematode multiplication in pot experiments. Extract treated and nematode inoculated plants showed improvement on growth over untreated inoculated plants and reduced the disease development. Five (viz., margosa, marigold, datura, hemp and tobacco) leaf extracts, irrespective of concentration, apparently induced tolerance in inoculated plants as evidenced by better plant growth in comparison to control and suppressed the multiplication of nematode which resulted in low root-knot index. Margosa (Azadirachta indica) leaf extract suppressed the nematode multiplication, reduced root galling and improved the plant growth of inoculated plants. Margosa and marigold (Tagetes erecta) leaf extracts were found more effective in controlling the root-knot development than the leaf extracts of hemp (Cannabis sativa), datura (Datura metel) and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). Higher concentrations (20 ml/plant) of leaf extracts were found to be more effective in controlling the root knot development. Based on our observations, it may be concluded that margosa or marigold extract treatment of brinjal seedlings prior to transplantation can avoid severe damage by suppressing the nematode multiplication and inducing the tolerance in treated inoculated plants.