Effect of Corm Size and Varieties on Corm/Cormels Production and Vase Life of Gladiolus

An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of corm size and varieties on corm/cormels production and vase life of gladiolus ( Gladious grandiflorus L.) under Chitwan condition. A Field experiment was conducted in a farmer’s field at Gunjanagar VDC, Chanauli, Chitawan during November 2008 to April 2009. The experiment consisted of 12 treatment combinations laid out in two factorial Randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Four sizes of corms viz. 2-3 cm, 3-4 cm, 4-5 cm and 5-6 cm and three varieties viz. American Beauty, Interpret and Yellow Summer Sunshine formed 12 treatment combinations. Laboratory experiment was conducted to determine the effect of corm size and varieties on the vase life of harvested cut spikes of gladiolus at ambient temperature at the central laboratory of the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences (IAAS), Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal. Corm size and varieties significantly affected corm/cormels production and vase life of gladiolus. Large sized corms (5-6 cm) performed better with respect to number of daughter corms and cormels per plant. Similarly, large sized corms (5-6 cm) showed better performance with respect to postharvest behavior such as total number of florets opened/spike (11.40), days to first and 100% floret withering as compared to small sized (2-3 cm) corms. Significant variation among three varieties was observed in most of the characters. Numbers of daughter corms were found highest in Yellow Summer Sunshine while maximum numbers of cormels/plant were found in Interpret. Similarly, Interpret proved best having more number of florets opened per spike and more days needed to first and 100% floret withering.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njst.v12i0.6477 Nepal Journal of Science and Technology 12 (2011) 35-40