Pantnagar Journal of Research

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out to evaluate double type or petaloid male sterile varieties of African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) for their growth, flowering behaviour and yield characters in different seasons viz. summer, rainy and winter under tarai conditions at Model Floriculture Centre, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, U.S. Nagar, Uttarakhand, India during February, 2019 - February 2020 with five varieties i.e., Arka Agni, Arka Bangara, Arka Bangara -2, Bidhan Marigold -1 and Bidhan Marigold -2 . During summer season maximum plant height (42.04 cm), plant spread (30.66 cm), number of branches per plant (42), earliest flower bud appearance, flower diameter (7.22 cm), fresh weight of flower (8.35g), dry weight of flower (1.19g), number of flowers (80.20), flower yield per plant (677.03 g), flower yield per hectare (42.30 tonnes) and were recorded in Arka Bangara -2. During rainy season, the highest plant height (117.63 cm), plant spread (94.90 cm), number of branches per plant (46.15), fresh weight of flower (8.15 g), dry weight of flower (1.63 g), number of flowers (81.22), flower yield per plant (676.77 g) and flower yield per hectare (42.42 tonnes), were recorded in Bidhan Marigold 1 and earliest flower bud appearance (41.81 days) was recorded in Bidhan Marigold 2. During winter season, the highest plant spread (46.75 cm), number of branches per plant (40.10), fresh weight of flower (7.61g), dry weight of flower (1.08g), number of flowers per plant (80.95), flower yield per plant (616.01 g), flower yield per hectare (38.49 tonnes) were recorded in Arka Agni and earliest flower bud appearance (43.9 days), maximum plant height (63.02 cm) and flower diameter (7.42 cm) were recorded in Arka Bangara 2.