Effect of foliar sprays of bioregulators on growth and flowering in gladiolus plants raised from cormels

An investigation was conducted for two consecutive years, 2008–09 and 2009–10 at Herbal Garden, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad to study the impact of certain chemicals and plant growth regulators (Ca(NO₃)₂, TIBA, SA, KH₂PO₄, SA and BA) on induction of flowering in plants raised from cormels. Cv. Darshan was significantly superior over cv. Dhiraj in respect of vegetative parameters and earliness in flowering. Foliar sprays of SA 150 ppm and Ca(NO₃)₂ 1% recorded maximum vegetative growth and were significantly effective in induction of early flowering in the plants raised from cormels. These treatments also recorded significantly highest flowering percentage. Control and TIBA 100 ppm took maximum number of days to flowering. Number of spikes per plant, spike length and weight, number of florets per spike and spike longevity were maximum with SA at 150 ppm.