Corm Yield and Economics of Gladiolus Cultivars Affected by Micronutrients Grown under Open Field Conditions in under Subtropics of Jammu

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the 2019-20 at the Experimental Farm, Division of Vegetable Science & Floriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, to evaluate the effect of micronutrients on corm yield and economics of gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus L.) cv. ‘Nova Lux’. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replications and nineteen treatments. The results revealed that the maximum number of corms per plant, corm weight per plant (118.31 g), diameter of corms (5.74 cm),Yield of corms per plot (1866.33 g), net income per hectare ( Rs 7,18,463.9/ha) and cost- benefit ratio (1:2.34) were obtained with the application of ZnSO4 at 0.2 % and FeSO4 at 0.2 %.  However, maximum cormels weight per plant (8.67 g), number of cormels per plant (22.85) and yield of cormels per plot (178.73 g) were recorded with the application of ZnSO4 @ 0.4% + FeSO4 @ 0.4%. Thus, foliar application of micronutrients i,e ZnSO4 at 0.2 % and FeSO4 at 0.2 % proved to be most effective in increasing the production and productivity of gladiolus.