Effects of Foliar Spray of Potassium Oxide on Vegetative Growth and Flower Quality of Gladiolus Cv. American Beauty

Abstract

A field trial was done to investigate the effect of foliar spray using different concentrations of potassium oxide on flower quality and yield attributes of Gladiolus cv. American Beauty, at Horticultural Farm, Rampur- Chitwan during the winter season of 2021/2022. Seven different concentrations of K2O (1gm/L, 2gm/L, 4gm/L, 6gm/L, 8gm/L, 10gm/L, and control) were applied for the experiment, laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The results illustrated that foliar spray of 4gm/L K2O treatment greatly enhanced most of the recorded parameters i.e., plant height (110.51 cm), number of leaves (8.86), spike length (79.92 cm), rachis length (40.16 cm), day for spike initiation (68.46 days), days for 50% flowering (79.53 days), number of florets per spike (13.5) and total days for flowering (85.26 days) as compared to control. Foliar spray of potassium can be applied as a partial substitute for the recommended soil amended potassium for increasing nutrient uptake and thus stimulating plant growth and floral characteristics.