Medicinal Plants - International Journal of Phytomedicines and Related Industries

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) is one of the important medicinal plants grown for its valuable flowers from which oil extracted with high pharmaceutical value. Plant bio-regulators can be effectively used to enhance both the vegetative as well as flowering attributes. Plants were foliarly treated with IAA, GA₃ and NAA at three concentrations (25, 50 and 100 ppm of each which improved floral parameters like days taken to first bud initiation, flower diameter (cm), number of flowers per plant and fresh and dry weight of flowers per plant (g). Among the different treatments, GA₃ at 100 ppm was found to be best treatment for most of the parameters viz. days taken to first bud initiation (15.53), flower diameter (2.57 cm), number offlowers per plant (268.93), fresh weight of flowers per plant (35.56 g) and dry weight of flowers per plant (6.96 g), whereas NAA at 100 ppm proved to be the best for stem diameter (6.76 mm). GA₃ @ 100 ppm was found to be the most effective for most of the vegetative and floral characteristics of chamomile cv. CIM Sammohak.