Evaluation of French Marigold (Tagetes patula L.) Varieties for Growth, Pot Presentability and Yield
Résumé
The present investigation was carried out at College of Horticulture, Sri Konda Laxman Telangana Horticultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad during Rabi 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. The experiment was laid in completely randomized design with five treatments and four replications to study the growth, pot presentability and yield of French marigold. Pusa Arpita recorded maximum plant height (22.73, 37.95 and 48.92 cm), plant spread (E-W) (15.81, 22.10 and 27.48), plant spread (N-S) (14.83, 21.55 and 26.26 cm), number of branches (9.10, 12.73 and 17.60), number of leaves (25.45, 51.50 and 73.63), stem diameter (6.99, 8.04 and 9.32 mm), chlorophyll (SPAD) (65.90, 57.56 and 50.29) at 30, 60 and 90 DAT, respectively. Pot presentability score (92.28), yield per plant (60.30 g) and yield per pot (179.36 g) were recorded maximum in Arka Pari. Different varieties have different growth regulating mechanisms, contrary to vegetative growth, in some genotypes the cell division and multiplication might be very high in reproductive phases due to the higher absorption of nutrients and metabolisms in flowering.