Climatic Controls of Marigold: Effect of Temperature and Rainfall on Growth and Yield of Marigold

Abstract

Marigold is considered as the most common, popular loose flower exhibiting a very high potential in the market. The field experiment was conducted at the experimental plot of RRTTS (OUAT) in Keonjhar, Odisha, over two consecutive years during the rabi seasons to investigate the impact of planting dates on the growth, yield, and productivity of various marigold varieties in the north central plateau zone of Odisha. The experiment involved comparing two varieties (BM1 and BM2) and six planting dates (1st September, 1st October, 1st November, 1st December, 1st January, and 1st February) in a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. The results of the experiment revealed a noticeable increasing trend between the first planting date (1st September) and the second planting date (1st October), followed by a decreasing trend in subsequent planting dates in both years and for both varieties, taking into account the harvesting duration. Regarding plant height, a significant correlation of 0.67 was observed with total rainfall at a 5% level of significance. In terms of flower count, three significant correlations were established at a 5% level of significance: accumulated Growing Degree Day (GDD) (0.64), average minimum temperature (0.56), and average mean temperature (0.55). Additionally, there was a highly significant correlation between branch count and various weather parameters, with correlations of accumulated GDD (0.89), total rainfall (0.71), average maximum temperature (0.79), average minimum temperature (0.89), and average mean temperature (0.86) for each parameter.