Effect of foliar spray of plant growth regulators on growth of potted hibiscus

Abstract

Investigation was done to study the effect of foliar spray of plant growth regulators on growth and flowering of potted hibiscus plants grown in pot during 2017-18 and 2018-19. Application of gibberellic acid, benzyl adenine and salicylic acid at different concentrations found significant in influencing the vegetative growth, flowering parameters and plant pigments of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis plants during both the years as compared to untreated plants (control). Plants sprayed with 100 ppm gibberellic acid resulted in to maximum plant height (24.90, 26.77 and 28.93 cm), plant spread and leaf area (15.55, 16.17 and 16.48 cm 2 ) respectively at 30, 60 and 90 days after spraying (DAS). While, maximum number of branches (4.63, 5.45 and 6.02) and leaves (26.57, 31.33 and 35.65) was recorded in plants sprayed with 50 ppm gibberellic acid, respectively at 30, 60 and 90 days after spraying (DAS). Maximum number of flowers per plant, flowers per branch, flower diameter, flowering period and in situ flower longevity was observed in hibiscus plants sprayed with 100 ppm gibberellic acid. The plants receiving the same treatments also increased chlorophyll content in leaves (19.50, 20.37 and 20.85 mg/g) and anthocynin in flower (17.03, 18.65 and 20.20 mg/g), respectively at 30, 60 and 90 days after spraying (DAS).

Response of Different Levels of Plant Growth Regulators on Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii) cv. Pink Elegance under Protected Cultivation

“…Patel et al [21] observed similar results in gerbera, with GA3 at 150 ppm resulting in the fewest days to first flower initiation (108.33 days), maximum flower diameter (8.76 cm), flower weight (5.93 g), and shelf life of flowers (8.00 days). GA3 also increased the number of suckers, and foliar application of 150 ppm GA3 was found to be the best for enhancing plant growth, yielding the maximum number of cut blooms with longer stalks and larger flower sizes, as reported by Sharifuzzaman et al [22] in chrysanthemum, Jamal et al [23] in gerbera and Sainath et al [24] in chrysanthemum observed similar earliness in the full opening of flowers due to GA3 treatments.…”