Standardization of floral preservatives for storage and vase life enhancement of Gladiolus grandiflorus var. nova Lux.

The present investigation was carried out during the year 2018–19 at Model Floriculture Centre and Department of Horticulture at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar Uttarakhand with the objective of studying the effects of various floral preservatives on storage as well as vase life of Gladiolus grandiflorus var. nova Lux. The experiment had thirteen treatment combinations of sucrose, 8 Hydroxy quinoline citrate (8-HQC) and AgNO₃ replicated thrice and was laid out in completely randomized design. The influence of floral preservatives showed statistically significant results for various floral traits such as floret diameter, longevity, spike length, preservative uptake, floret opening percentage, blooming period etc. over the control. For storage life, the optimum treatment combination was T₂ (sucrose 3%) whereas for vase life, the optimum treatment combination recorded was T₈ (8-HQC 300 ppm, sucrose 6%).