Production of stunted specimens from Jasminum officinale L. plant

Abstract

A pot experiment was carried out at the nursery of Hort. Res. Inst., ARC, Giza, Egypt during 2022 and 2023 seasons to examine the effect of paclobutrazol (PP-333) at 0, 50, 100 and 150 ppm concentrations as foliar spray, pinching and non-pinching treatments and their interactions on growth, flowering and chemical composition of the common white jasmine (Jasminum officinale L.) transplants. The obtained results indicated that the mean values of plant height, No. of branches, flowers and leaves/plant, first flower diameter and fresh and dry weights of top growth were gradually decreased with increasing PP-333 application rate, whereas stem diameter, root length, No. of days to flowering and roots fresh and dry weights were progressively increased, with few exceptions in the two seasons. On the other hand, pinching treatment caused a significant decrease in the means of plant height. No. of leaves/plant, root length, as well fresh and dry weights of top growth and roots, but significantly increased the means of stem and flower diameters, No. of branches and flowers/plant, No. of days to flowering compared to non-pinching one in both seasons. The best results was obtained from either pinched plants sprayed with 100 ppm PP-333 or nonpinched ones sprayed with 150 ppm PP-333.Thus, it can be advised to spray the foliage of the pinched common white jasmine transplants with PP-333 (100 ppm) and those of the non-pinched ones with PP-333 (150 ppm), 3 times at a 3 week-intervals to get a best quality specimen of dwarfed plants.