Floral biology and seed setting studies in Dianthus barabatus L

Dianthus barbatus commonly known as Sweet William belongs to the family Caryophyllaceae. It is an important flower crop which is generally used in borders, pots, beds and also as a cut flower. Studies on its floral biology and seed setting were conducted in the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping of Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry at Nauni-Solan during 1997-1998. The flowers were pedicillate, hermaphrodite, hypogynous, actinomorphic and pentamerous. The plant was 48.35 cm tall with eight number of side shoots. Number of flowers on main shoot were 94 and average flower size was 1.94 cm. Inflorescence initiation took 160 days from date of seed germination while flowering duration was 5 days. The entire systematic development of floral buds was divided into 6 different stages and flower bud took 16 days for full development Maximum flower anthesis and pollen dehiscence was observed between 10-12 AM, while cloudy days slower down both the processes. Maximum pollen germination was seen in 6 per cent sucrose media. Pod formation took 11 days from the date of flower anthesis. The best pollination method was found to be artificial pollination two days after anthesis hence, giving highest number of seed per capsule and capsule set. Maximum seed germination was found in trays filled with sieved soil, sand, FYM (1:1:1, v/v).