I. A. R. I., Regional Station, Katrain, Kullu, 175 129 (H. P.)
*Present address: Divsion of Floriculture & Landscaping, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110012.
Variability and coefficient of correlations were studied in 9 characters of 23 dahlia varieties which indicated the maximum variation for some of the characters like plant height, flower weight, number of flowers per plant, days to first flower and diameter of first flower. Number of flowers per plant which had positively significant correlation with plant spread indicated that with the increase of more number of flowers per plant larger spread may be obtained. Days to first flower had negative correlation with plant spread. Selections of varieties like ‘Garden Glory’ and ‘Annapurna’ will be of importance in the improvement of dahlia as they have showed maximum excellent performance for some of the desired characters like plant spread, number of flowers per plant and number of shoots per plant as these are of primary importance in dahlia crop.
