Effect of Foliar Application of FeSO₄ and ZnSO₄ on Flower Production and Anthocyanin Content of Gladiolus Spike

Foliar spraying of FeSO₄ (1 %) at 3 and 6 leaf stage reduced the time of 50% flowering by 5 days in the first year of study. FeSO₄ at 0.75% or 1% foliar spray during second year of investigation significantly produced longer spikes of 73.71 and 73.46 cm, respectively, compared to the spike length (67.52 cm) in control. The spray of FeSO₄ at 0.75% was also beneficial in producing more number of florets/spike as compared to control. Foliar spray of 0.5%, 0.75% or 1% FeSO₄ sprayed at 3rd and 6th leaf stage of gladiolus crop significantly improved the anthocyanin pigmentation of gladiolus spike. The varied concentrations of ZnSO₄ or various concentration combinations of FeSO₄ and ZnSO₄ foliar sprays did not result in significant improvement of the floral characters studied.