Evaluation of genotypes of French marigold (Tagetes patula L.) under mid hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh

Nature and magnitude of genetic variance assessed for 14 French marigold genotypes maintained as inbred lines showed the presence of wide genetic diversity. The experiment was conducted at the research farm of Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture which was laid out in Randomized Block Design replicated thrice and performance of these genotypes was examined. It was observed that among various genotypes, days taken to flowering ranged from 35.90 days to 55.60 days recorded in ‘Safari Queen ’and ‘Cupidon Lemon ’, respectively. Plant height ranged from 56.20 cm to 27.60 cm, recorded in ‘Harmony Boy ’and ‘French Bonita-6 ’, respectively. Maximum plant spread was also recorded in ‘Harmony Boy ’(44.04 cm), while it was minimum in ‘Spray Boy ’(26.25 cm). Number of flowers per plant ranged from 131.90 to 34.60, as recorded in ‘Spray Max ’and ‘Cupidon Lemon ’, respectively. Weight of flowers per plant was recorded maximum in ‘Spray Max ’(202.80 g/plant) whereas it was recorded minimum in ‘Single Petal Red ’(88.70 g/plant). Flower size was recorded maximum in Cupidon Lemon (6.37 cm), however, minimum flower diameter was observed in ‘Single Petal Red ’(2.83 cm). Flower yield per m² was recorded maximum in Spray Max (5.069 kg/m²) and minimum in ‘Single Petal Red ’(2.217 kg/m²). Depending upon the mean value, the varieties like Sunkist, Spray Boy, Safari Queen, Spray Max, French Bonita-6 can be used as parents in hybridization programme for higher yield.