Gladiolus grandiflorus Andrews is among the most popular cut flowers. In the present study, the effect of sowing time on growth, flowering, and corm characteristics of six newly introduced varieties of this cut flower in Pakistan, namely Red Balance, Cartago, Beach Party, Cayenne, Kir Royal, and Almerium, was studied under agro-ecological conditions of Lahore, Pakistan. Corms of these varieties were sown in a field on November 30, December 15 and 31, 2019, with average temperatures of 16, 14, and 12oC, respectively. Sowing dates had significant effects on various vegetative and reproductive characteristics. In general, maximum plant height, leaf width, minimum days to flowering, number of florets per plant, and floret diameter were recorded in plants sown on November 30 (and sometimes on December 15 also), while the lowest values for all these parameters were obtained in plants sown on December 31. The number of cormels were gradually decreased in Beach Party, Cayenne, Kir Royal, and Almerium with the delay of sowing from November 30 to December 15 and 31. On the other hand, in Red Balance, Cartago, the highest number of cormels was recorded on December 31 owing plants. This study concludes that cultivation on November 30 is the most suitable time for most of the gladiolus varieties for the best vegetative and reproductive growth in agro ecological zone of Lahore.
Ferdosi, MFH; Ahmad, HS; Nasim, MK; Khan, IH; Javaid, A; Zahid, I
CLIMATIC ADAPTABILITY OF EXOTIC GLADIOLUS GRANDIFLORUS VARIETIES UNDER THE ENVIRONMENT OF LAHORE, PAKISTAN
Pakistan Journal Of Botany