Effect of substrates on lilium (Lilium longiflorum L.) programming in container system

Abstract

Substrate plays an important role for the success of ornamental crop production in container system. An experiment was carried out to examine the effect of substrates on lilium (Lilium longiflorum L.) programming in container system at Model Floriculture Centre, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand during 2014-15. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design. The effect of the substrates on flowering and bulbous attributes was investigated. Cocopeat (T2) substrate demonstrated significant effects on flowering attributes like plant height (108.66 cm), stem diameter (8.77 mm), No. of flower buds (7.26), flower bud length (10.46 cm), flower bud diameter (31.52 mm), flower diameter (14.29 cm) and vase-life (10.73 days). However, number of days to bud appearance (35.40) and number of days to first flower opening (66.53) were maximum with soil substrate (T1). Among bulbous characteristics bulb diameter (52.07 mm), bulb weight (56.24 g), number of bulblets (3.46), stem roots (15.26 cm) and basal roots length (25.12 cm) were found maximum with cocopeat substrate. Among the potting media, 100% cocopeat (T2) showed overall positive influence on growth, flowering and bulbous attributes as compared to control (T1), hence, recommended for lilium cultivation in container system.