A comparison of growth, flowering and flower quality of unexploited jasmine species (Jasminum sp.) with commercial species

The study was conducted at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University during 2014–2015, with the objective of evaluating the performance of underexploited jasmine species for growth, flower yield, flower quality and market preference. The evaluation trial was carried out with eleven jasmine types belonging to ten Jasminum species (Jasminum sambac, J. grandiflorum, J. auriculatum, J. multiflorum, J. nitidum, J. calophyllum, J. flexile, J. rigidum, J. primulinum and J. arborescens) under open field conditions. The three commercial jasmine cultivars viz., J. sambac, J. grandiflorum and J. auriculatum served as standard check. The remaining eight types included two clonal selections of J. multiflorum (Acc. JM-2 and Acc. JM-1) and one clonal selection (Acc. JN1) of J. nitidum from germplasm and these eight types were treated as ‘unexploited/underexploited types ’. The study revealed that significant variations existed among the jasmine types for vegetative growth, flowering, flower yield and flower quality parameters indicating that these traits were highly variable among the eleven types of the genus. Three unexploited types namely, J. nitidum (Acc. JN-1) J. multiflorum (Acc. JM-2) and J. multiflorum (Acc. JM-1) proved promising for flower yield and flower quality parameters. Further, market preference analysis of J. nitidum (Acc. JN-1) indicated that it was rated as a superior type by evaluators who included wholesalers and retailers of the Coimbatore flower market, based on overall consumer appeal. The study has indicated that the superior clones of J. nitidum (Acc. JN-1) and J. multiflorum (Acc. JM-2 and Acc. JM-1) can be promoted for commercial cultivation. It has also give scope for using the underexploited species in jasmine improvement programmes.