Sobhana, ANimisha, AugustineKAU2019-06-202019-06-202016http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810109346PGThe experiment entitled “Performance of African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) under different growing conditions” was undertaken in the Department of Pomology and Floriculture, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during the year 2015-2016. Performance of eight African marigold cultivars viz., Sonata Orange, Sonata Yellow, Biocarve Orange, Biocarve Yellow, Local Orange, Local Yellow, Sierra Yellow and Orange Giant were evaluated under open field and rain shelter conditions during two seasons; Season I (from July – November 2015) and Season II (from January – April 2016). Observations were recorded on vegetative, floral and seed characters as well as chlorophyll content in leaves and xanthophyll and flavonoid contents in flowers. The vegetative and floral characters of African marigold cultivars were found to be greatly influenced by the growing conditions and growing seasons. The plant height, internodal length, number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, flower diameter, individual flower weight, number of flowers/plant, shelf life, total flower yield and marketable flower yield were better in the rain shelter grown plants during both the seasons. Stem girth, leaf length, leaf breadth, leaf area and petiole length were the highest in plants grown in open field condition during the two seasons. The highest flower length and pedicel length were recorded in the open field condition during first season and under rain shelter condition during second season. During both the seasons, least number of days for first flowering and 50 per cent flowering were recorded in rain shelter grown plants. Highest seed yield was obtained from plants grown under rain shelter condition, whereas highest seed germination, chlorophyll, xanthophyll and flavonoid contents were recorded in plants grown in the open field condition. Among the cultivars, Orange Giant recorded highest plant height (113.00 cm), internodal length (8.02 cm), number of secondary branches (35.38), flower diameter (6.56 cm), flower weight (12.29 g), total flower yield (668.06 g/plant) and marketable flower yield (606.74 g/plant) during the first season. The cultivar Local Yellow recorded highest seed yield (1.11g) and seed germination (90.00%). Maximum shelf life (4.57 days) was noticed in Sonata Orange. The cultivar Biocarve Orange recorded least number of days for first flowering (43.92 days) and 50 per cent flowering (56.08 days). Highest chlorophyll content was recorded in cultivar Local Yellow, xanthophyll content in cultivar Orange Giant and flavonoid content in Sonata Orange. During the second season, highest plant spread, stem girth (2.47 cm), number of primary branches (8.60), leaf length (12.55 cm), leaf area (13.79 cm2) and seed yield (0.62 g) were recorded in Local Yellow. The cultivar Sonata Orange recorded highest plant height (47.97 cm) and number of secondary branches (22.93). Highest number of flowers/plant (51.27), shelf life (3.17 days), total flower yield (186.43 g/plant), marketable flower yield (182.94 g/plant) and seed germination (89.00%) were recorded in cultivar Orange Giant. The cultivar Biocarve Yellow took least number of days for first flowering and 50 per cent flowering among the cultivars. Highest chlorophyll content was recorded in cultivar Orange Giant, xanthophyll content in cultivar Local Orange and flavonoid content in Sonata Orange. Evaluation of cultivars under open field and rain shelter conditions during both the seasons revealed that, the cultivar Orange Giant was superior to all other cultivars. All the vegetative, floral and seed characters were found to be better during the first season. Even though higher concentration of total chlorophyll was recorded in plants grown during first season xanthophyll and flavonoid contents were maximum during the second season. From the study it is concluded that African marigold can be very well grown under rain shelter condition during July – November, which coincides with the rainy season in Kerala.ennullThesis