Performance of different varieties of gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii Bolus) under protected cultivation in Konkan region of Maharashtra.

An investigation was carried out to evaluate the ten varieties of gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii Bolus) viz Stanza, Ankur, Danna Ellen, Brilliance, Balance, Silvester, Goliath, Dune, Intense and Rosalin under protected cultivation at the High-Tech nursery, College of Horticulture, Dapoli, Ratnagiri (MS) during 2020–21. Among the varieties under study, there were highly significant variations observed for flowering parameters. The significantly minimum days to first flower bud emergence (84.76 days), maximum flower stalk length (64.15 cm), flower diameter (99.59 cm), length of ray floret (4.81 cm), number of flowers per plant (22.00), flowers yield per ha (7.92 lakhs), vase life (9.67 days) and longevity of flowers in field (11.33 days) were recorded in variety Ankur. The maximum flower disc diameter (2.41 cm) was recorded in variety Dune. Flower stalk diameter (5.98 cm), number of petals per flower (85.02) were recorded maximum in variety Goliath. Maximum width of ray floret (8.96 cm) was observed in variety Balance.