Influence of Gibberellic Acid and Planting Date on Growth and Flowering in Gladiolus CV.Yellow Frilled

The present investigation was conducted during 2004-05 rabi season to test the influence of gibberellic acid (GA₃) and planting date on growth and flowering in gladiolus cv. Yellow Frilled, at S.D.A.U., S.K. Nagar (Gujarat). This was done in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications and analysed under factorial setup to study the interaction. Results revealed that the earliest sprouting in corm, maximum plant height, number of leaves plant^-1, leaf area plant^-1, early spike emergence, number of spikes plant^-1 plot^-1, spike length, rachis length, number of florets spike^-1, and flowering duration were recorded in the earliest planting date, i.e., 25^th October. Dipping corm in GA₃ (100pm) also proved to be the best leading to earliest corm sprouting, and various growth/flowering parameters. From these results, it is concluded that in gladiolus, planting on 25^th October along with dipping of corms in gibberellic acid (100ppm) at the time of planting, is most effective for improved growth and flowering.