Pgr-Potentiated Flowering of Gladiolus Mini-Corms

Conventionally, larger gladiolus corms are planted for the production of quality spikes. Contrary to the general belief that smaller cormels need 2–3 years of physiological maturity and attainment of a definitive corm size for flowering commencement, we could induce flowering in the miniscule Cat-8 corms of gladiolus variety Happy End, with the help of PGRs. These corms were physiologically immature and weighed only~300mg. This study supports the view that PGRs could be used, as manipulative tools, for curtailing the physiological impediments, which may prove immensely useful in forced flowering of gladiolus varieties. Such forced flowering will be quite advantageous for seed formation in any breeding programme.