Development of site-specific integrated nutrient management systems for gladiolus (Gladiolus hybridus Hort.) and marigold (Tagetes patula L.) using soil test crop response correlation studies

Importance of medicinal plants to health care has been great and herbal preparations are being produced at industrial scale particularly in developing countries. The plant products obtained have a long history of use in therapeutics, aromatherapy and food depending on the chemical constituents and their bioactivity. In the recent past, marigolds have received a great attention in scientific research, because of their multiple use and also the information available about their phytochemistry and bioactivity. Tagetes species commonly known as marigold is native to Mexico, being used for medicinal and ornamental purposes. The plant is useful due to its unique phytoconstituents for a range of diseases and disorders and is reportedly effective against piles, kidney troubles, muscular pain, ulcers and wound healing and the flowers are helpful in fever, stomach and liver complaints and also in eye diseases. In India, marigold is also extensively used on religious and social occasions such as in the beautification of mandaps and pooja places; offerings at temples; marriage decorations and landscape planning due to variable size and colour of its flower. Present review is an effort to bring together the different strategies developed for the growth and cultivation of marigold, its ecophysiological and remediation relevance under a variety of environmental conditions and possible allelopathic potential. It includes reports on pharmacological aspects like antibacterial, antifungal, larvicidal, hepatoprotective, insecticidal, mosquitocidal, nematicidal, wound healing, antioxidant, anticancer and antidiabetic properties/activity of Tagetes.

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Marigold: From Mandap to Medicine and from Ornamentation to Remediation

The flowers are commercially used as cut flowers for interior decorations as well as for flower arrangement and religious offerings. Importance of flowers is not restricted upto the beautification, decoration or preparation of gajara, garland, veni or bouquets but also have the industrial importance too. Thus taking into consideration the different uses of flowers, the demand for floricultural plants is increasing day by day and to meet out the same, a sound and scientific technology, needs to be generated in the form of better fertilization management practices, to be passed on to farming community. In flower crops, growth, yield and nutrient content is significantly affected by application of major nutrients i.e. nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. From the reviews it is clear that the positive effect of NPK application on the growth and yield attributes of the flower crops is well established.

https://www.chemijournal.com/archives/2019/vol7issue3/PartAL/7-3-59-566.pdf

Soil and plant response to NPK variations in flower crops: A critical review

A field experiment was conducted at the Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Dr. Y. S. R. Horticultural University, Venkataramannagudem, West Godavari district (A.P.), India; during kharif 2014-15 to investigate the effect of different sources (muriate of potash and sulphate of potash) and levels of potassium (0, 40, 80, 120, 160, 200 and 240 kg ha-1) on flower yield and carotenoids content in African marigold (Tagetes erecta Linn.) cv. ‘Maxima Yellow’. Based on the results obtained, it was concluded that potassium applied at the rate of 240 kg/ha in the form of sulphate of potash recorded significantly the highest flower yield per hectare (223.66 q/ha). Significant differences were observed in carotenoids content of flower petals between the sources of potassium applied at the same level at all stages of flower harvest. However, the carotenoids content in the flower petals was recorded significantly the highest when sulphate of potash (K2SO4) was used as source of potassium at the rate of 240 kg ha -1 (28.53, 38.53 and 24.57 μg/100g of flower petals respectively at early, peak and final stages of harvest) which was at par with the application of potassium at the rate of 200 kg/ha in the form of sulphate of potash (25.38, 35.71 and 22.50 μg/100g of flower petals respectively at early, peak and final stages of harvest).

Effect of different sources and levels of potassium on yield and carotenoids content of African marigold (Tagetes erecta Linn.) cv. 'Maxima Yellow'.

A pot experiment was conducted in the screen-house of the Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 2011–12 and 2012–13 to investigate the potential effect of biofertilizers (PSB and mycorrhiza) and different levels of phosphorus (0, 10, 15 and 20 g/m2) on growth, yield and quality of chrysanthemum. The conjunctive effect of biofertilizers and different levels of phosphorus was found to be significant for both the years. The maximum plant height (31.77 and 33.33 cm), fresh weight of plant (100.90 and 96.77 g) and dry weight of plant (10.85 and 10.15 g) were recorded with PSB + phosphorus 15 g/m2 in the year 2011–12 and 2012–13, respectively. The minimum number of days taken for bud initiation (61.67 and 63.33 days) and number of days to first flowering (75.00 and 75.67 days) were also obtained with PSB + phosphorus 15 g/m2 in both the years, respectively. The maximum number of buds per plant (32.33 and 32.00), number of flowers per plant (29.00 and 29.33), the longest flower stalk (6.33 and 6.33 cm) were noticed with PSB + phosphorus 15 g/m2 in the year 2011–12 and 2012–13, respectively. The maximum number of days taken for bud initiation (79.00 and 80.33 days) was recorded with mycorrhiza application (alone) during both the years, respectively. The interaction effect between the biofertilizers and levels of phosphorous on number of suckers per plant was found to be non-significant during both the years of experimentation.

Growth, Yield and Quality of Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifoliumRamat.) cv. Dolly Orange as influenced by Biofertilizers in combination with Phosphorous

An investigation was carried out at Department of Horticulture, R.B.S. College, Bichpuri, Agra(U.P.), to study the effect of nutrients and bio-inoculants on growth, flowering behaviour and yield of African marigold (Tagetes erecta) var. Pusa Narangi Gainda. The experiment was conducted with the four level of nutrients viz., F0 (without nutrients), F1 (200 kg N, 80 kg P and 80 kg K ha−1), F2 (150 kg N, 60 kg P and 80 kg K ha−1), F1 (100 kg N, 40 kg P and 80 kg K ha−1). Maximum plant height, flower size and yield per plant were recorded in T1 (200 kg N, 80 kg P and 80 kg K ha−1). Three level of bio-inoculant viz., B0 (without bioinoculant), B1 (10 kg VAM ha−1) and B2 (2 kg phosphobacterine), B1 (10 kg VAM ha−1) recorded maximum secondary branches, size of flower and yield per plant (g). Interaction of higher levels of NPK and VAM (200: 80: 80 kg−1 + 10 kg−1 VAM).

S.V.S. Rathore

Papers

Effect of nutrients and bio-inoculants on growth, flowering behavior and yield of African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) var. “Pusa Narangi Gainda”