1Division of Oranmental Crops, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta, Bangalore-560 089, Karnataka.
2Department of Statistics, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore-560 065.
*Present address: Division of Floriculture & Landscaping, IARI, New Delhi 110012.
Gladiolus being one of the most important bulbous ornamentals grown in many parts the world, stands fifth in the international floriculture trade. In India it has now gained importance as cut flower both for domestic consumption and export. Most of the Gladiolus cultivars grown in India are introduced from other countries without evaluating their performance under our situations. Hence a study was undertaken to know the relative performance of some Indian and commercially grown exotic gladiolus genotypes. The present study with 35 (11 Indian and 24 exotic) genotypes on 26 characters revealed that, Indian genotypes exhibit early sprouting, more shoots and spikes per corm and leaves per shoot, early spike emergence and high corm multiplication rate with larger and heavier corms. While, exotic genotypes had larger florets, more florets open at one time, longer spikes and high cormel multiplication rate. Since exotic cultivars exhibited better spikes/floret characters coupled with their exclusive colours which are of economic importance, they are being grown on a commercial scale. The study thus suggests the need for improving Indian genotypes for both qualitative and quantitative traits to meet the international quality.
Gladiolus, relative performance, Indian and exotic cultivars, Tukey's test
