STANDARDIZATION OF PLANTING TIME, PLANTING METHODS AND PINCHING TECHNIQUES FOR SUMMER SEASON CUT FLOWER PRODUCTION OF Zinnia elegans IN ASSAM
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Date
2021
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Abstract
he experiment entitled “Standardization of planting time, planting methods and
pinching techniques for summer season cut flower production of Zinnia elegans in
Assam” was undertaken in the Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam
Agricultural University, Jorhat during the year 2020-2021 to find out the most suitable
combination of planting time, method of planting and stage of pinching for Zinnia
elegans cv. Dreamland Mix. The field experiment, laid out in Randomized Block
Design with three replications, comprised of three planting dates viz., mid of January,
February and March, two planting methods viz., direct sowing of seeds in the main field
and transplanting of seedlings, and two stages of pinching viz., single pinching at 3 pairs
of leaves and double pinching, viz., 1st pinching at 3 pairs of leaves stage followed by
2nd pinching of lateral shoots at 15 days after 1st pinching. The results revealed that all
the treatments had a significant influence on growth and flowering of Zinnia elegans.
Taller plants (24.55 cm and 33.73 cm at 30 DAT and at full bloom stage, respectively)
with longer flower stalks (10.15 cm) were obtained from February transplanted
seedlings subjected to single pinching. The number of branches per plant (16.44),
number of flowers per plant (21.22), main stem diameter (1.35 cm), flower stalk
diameter (7.22 mm) and total flowering duration (29.22 days) were higher with double
pinching in February transplanted seedlings. From the present study, it may be inferred
that for summer season cut flower production, Zinnia seedlings should be transplanted
in the month of February followed by pinching at 3 pair leaves stage and 15 days after
1st pinching.
A laboratory experiment was conducted in Department of Horticulture, AAU,
Jorhat, to study the effect of various pulsing treatments on the post harvest life of Zinnia
elegans cv. „Dreamland Mix‟ cut flowers. The post-harvest experiment was laid out in
Completely Randomized Design with 9 treatments replicated thrice. The pulsing
treatments were distilled water, sucrose solution (2%, 4%, 6%, 8%), 2% sucrose +
200ppm 8-HQS, 4% sucrose + 200 ppm 8-HQS, 6% sucrose + 200 ppm 8-HQS, and 8%
sucrose + 200ppm 8-HQS. Pulsing with 4% sucrose + 200 ppm 8-HQS registered the
maximum vase solution uptake (6.65 g/flower stem), higher fresh weight (91.33%),
delayed petal discoloration (9.32 days), higher relative water content (60.7%) and the
lowest bacterial count (4.86 CFU/ml) which finally led to longest vase life (10.5 days)
of zinnia cut flowers.