Carnation is an important cut flower in Nepal. Several cultivars imported from abroad are being adopted for their commercial production. However, the performance of these cultivars in the specific agro-climate has not yet determined. Thus, study aimed to evaluate the performance of common cultivars, including mineral nutrition and IAA hormone on the plant growth and flowering. The study was carried out in Horticulture Research Division, Khumaltar, Nepal during 2012 and 2013. Four cultivars: King Lion, Delson, Eskimo and White Liberty including nitrogen and foliar application of IAA were evaluated for plant growth and floral characteristics. The experiment was held in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications.Based on the results, cultivar King Lion had significantly highest plant height (20.66 cm), while cultivar Eskimo had the highest flower stem length (53.59 cm) and stem diameter (5.63 cm) followed by Delson (51.66 cm). The lower flower stems lengths of cultivars: White Liberty (42.48 cm) and King Lion (43.87 cm) were at par. The effect of mineral nutrition and hormone on plant height, flower stem length and flower head diameter was non-significant, however, IAA 25 ppm foliar spray was found superior over N 40 g/m2 and IAA 50 ppm applications. Thus, Eskimo is recommended as the excellent cultivar for its bigger flower stem, straightness and attractive flower looking, while cultivars; Delson and White Liberty as promising for higher flower yield. Similarly, soil application of nitrogen @ 40 g/m2 and foliar spray of auxin @ 25 ppm are recommended for higher flower yield.
Zinc deficiency affects one third of the population worldwide, and vitamin A deficiency is a prevalent public health issue in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-Asia, including Nepal. Crop biofortification is the sustainable solution to these health—related problems, thus we conducted two different field trials in an alpha lattice design to identify zinc and provitamin A biofortified maize genotypes consistent and competitive in performance over the contrasting seasons (Season 1: 18 February to 6 July 2020 and Season 2: 31 August to 1 February 2020/21). In our study, the performance of introduced maize genotypes (zinc—15 and provitamin A biofortified—24) were compared with that of the local check, focusing on the overall agro-morphology, yield attributes, yield, and kernel zinc and total carotenoid content. Zinc and total carotenoid in the tested genotypes were found in the range between 14.2 and 24.8 mg kg−1 and between 1.8 and 3.6 mg 100 g−1. Genotypes A1831-8 from zinc and EEPVAH-46 from provitamin A biofortified maize trial recorded kernel zinc and total carotenoid as high as 52.3, and 79.5%, respectively, compared to the local check (DMH849). The provitamin A genotypes EEPVAH-46 and EEPVAH-51 (total carotenoid: 3.6 and 3.3 mg 100 g−1), and zinc biofortified genotypes A1847-10 and A1803-42 (20.4 and 22.4 mg kg−1 zinc) were identified as superior genotypes based on their yield consistency over the environments and higher provitamin A and zinc content compared to the check. In addition, farmers can explore August sowing to harvest green cobs during December-January to boost up the emerging green cob business.
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