Response of Different Levels of Plant Growth Regulators on Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii) cv. Pink Elegance under Protected Cultivation

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of plant growth regulators on the growth, flower quality and yield of gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii Adlam) cv. Pink Elegance under a naturally ventilated polyhouse in the Department of Horticulture at SHUATS, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, during 2023-24. The design for experiment is Randomized Block Design with three replications and ten treatments. Gerbera plants were sprayed with GA3, Cycocel and NAA at different concentrations of 50, 100 and 150 ppm along with control. The results from the study concluded that the treatment GA3 @150 ppm was found in superior among other treatments in terms of plant height, number of leaves per plant, plant spread, leaf area, leaf area index, number of flowers per plant, flower weight, flower diameter, root length, stalk length, shelf life, flower yield per m2, flower yield per 1000 polybags and minimum days to first flowering. Thus, the 150 ppm GA3 treatment was identified as the most effective for promoting both excellent vegetative and reproductive growth. Thus, GA3 @150 ppm can be recommended for plant growth and flowering of Gerbera proving the multifaceted role of plant growth regulator (PGR) in gerbera cultivation, helping growers optimize plant growth, flowering and yield while maintaining high-quality flower production.