Optimizing Pot-Anthurium Growth and Blooms: Exploring the Impact of Plant Growth Regulators

Abstract

The study was conducted from June 2022 to June 2023 in the shade-net house of All-India Co-ordinated Research Project on Floriculture at Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, to evaluate the effect of plant growth regulators on pot-Anthurium production, with sixteen treatments replicated thrice, in a Completely Randomized Design. The plants were sprayed with Benzyl adenine (BA), Gibberellic acid (GA3) and Cycocel (CCC) at five different concentrations (100 ppm, 200 ppm, 300 ppm, 400 ppm and 500ppm). The results revealed that plants treated with GA3 @ 500 ppm recorded the highest vegetative growth parameters, including plant height (21 cm), leaf length (7.38 cm), and leaf width (3.26 cm). Other growth parameters, such as the number of suckers per plant (3.8), number of leaves per plant (23) and the plant spread in both East-West (21.32 cm) and North-South (23.2 cm) directions, were maximized in plants treated with BA @ 500 ppm. Floral parameters, including the number of flowers per plant (3.2), spadix length (1.38cm), spadix breadth (0.36cm), spathe length (4.46cm) and spathe breadth (2.82cm) were recorded highest in plants treated with GA3 @ 500 ppm. Overall, the application of GA3 @ 500 ppm and BA @ 500 ppm exhibited the best results in vegetative growth, flowering habit, quality, and flower production compared to other treatments.