Effect of seed priming on growth and flowering of China aster Callistephus chinensis (L) Nees Pangtu Shabnam*, Sharma BP, Dilta BS1, Chaudhary SVS Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry Nauni, Solan, 173230, Himachal Pradesh, India 1Department of Seed Science and Technology, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry Nauni, Solan, 173230, Himachal Pradesh, India *Email for correspondence: shabnam.pangtu34@gmail.com
Online published on 21 August, 2018. Abstract The present investigations were carried out at the research farm and laboratory of the Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh in two sets of experiments during 2016–2017 on cvs Poornima and Kamini laid out in randomized block design (factorial) comprising eight seed priming treatments viz control, hydropriming with water, priming with GA3(50, 100 and 150 ppm) and biopriming with Trichoderma viride @ 1 × 104, 1 × 105 and 1 × 106 cfu/ml. The results obtained indicated maximum values for plant height, plant spread, earliest first flowering, number of flowers per plant, flower size and flowering duration recorded with the treatment GA3 (100 ppm) in the two cultivars Poornima and Kamini respectively. It was found that seeds of cv Kamini treated with GA3 (100 ppm) for 24 h obtained the best results for most of the desirable growth and flower yield parameters. Top Keywords Priming, growth, China aster, Poornima, Kamini, flowering. Top |