Pperformance of exotic Orchidiolas and I.I.H.R. gladiolus cultivars

Gladiolus is one of the best bulbous flower crops grown in many parts of the world for cut flower and garden display purposes. In India also gladiolus has now become very popular as cut flower crop. Many exotic cultivars are being introduced to our country. Cultivars Adi and Tal tal which are classified under Orchidiolas were developed in Israel. These were evaluated along with IIHR developed cultivars viz., Darshan, Dhiraj and Kumkum in a randomised block design under open field conditions. Significant differences were observed among the cultivars for the traits like days to flower, spike length, rachis length, number of florets per spike and florets remain open at a time. Cultivar Darshan was earliest to flower. Plant height, spike length and rachis length were maximum in cv. Dhiraj. Lowest rachis length and floret size were observed in cv. Taltal. Maximum floret size was recorded in cv. kum-kum whereas maximum number of florets per spike was in cv. Dhiraj. Least number of florets per spike was found in cv. Adi. Considering both quantitative and qualitative traits I.I.H.R. cultivars performed better than cultivars of orchidiolas.