Effect of Silicon and Nutrients on Growth, Flowering and Corm Traits of Gladiolus under Normal Soil Conditions

A field experiment was conducted at the research farm of the Division of Floriculture and Landscaping, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, during the year 2021-22 to know the effect of silicon and nutrients on growth, flowering and corm traits of gladiolus under normal soil conditions. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with twelve treatment combinations and three replications. A gladiolus variety, Pusa Shanti with different levels of nutrients and silica oxide concentrations with soil and foliar applications was accommodated in the experiment. The data for growth, floral, corms traits including physiological characters were collected and compiled, statistically analyzed. The results of experiment indicated that combined application of silicon with soil and foliar spray along with nutrients significantly influenced all the vegetative, flowering and corm characters in gladiolus and treatment T10 (S1F1N1N2) i.e. silica oxide @ 30 kg ha-1 with soil + 1% foliar application, five times (30 DAP),+10 tones ha-1 vermicompost + 200:100:100kg ha-1NPK was the best and recorded plant height(135.00 cm), spike length (110.66 cm), length of rachis (82.33 cm), vase life in normal tap water (17.00 day) and number of corms/cormels per plant (3.66 and 50.33 respectively) followed by treatment T11 (S2F1N1N2) which had recorded the maximum sprouting % and more number of florets per spike and T12, as compared to control treatment. Further results also indicated that treatment T10 (S1F1N1N2) had recorded maximum single corm’s weight 51.66 g, diameter of corm 6.03 cm, dry weight of plant 26.33 g; whereas, treatment T11 had recorded maximum fresh weight of plant 155.66 g, total chlorophyll content (a+b) 2.28 mg/g, membrane stability index 82.40 and relative water content 85.33% as compared to control and remaining treatments.