Morphological Characters and Plant Pigments Content of Three Varieties of Chrysanthemum Induced by Paclobutrazol Treatments

Abstract

Chrysanthemum is one of the favorite ornamental plants as a potted flower. Consumers currently prefer potted flowers with short stems, lush leaves, also uniform and compact flowers. It is necessary to form the potted flowers by applying paclobutrazol (PBZ). This research aimed to determine the effectiveness of paclobutrazol and find the best PBZ concentration in forming three varieties of potted Chrysanthemum based on plant morphology and plant pigments content. The study design was a factorial completely randomized design, which factors were a variation of PBZ concentration (0, 50, 100, and 150 ppm) and Chrysanthemum varieties, namely Jaguar Red (JR), Fiji White (FW), and Snow White (SW). The growth parameters were plant height, vegetative phase, flowering time, and flower diameter. Plant pigments included total leaf chlorophyll content, chlorophyll a and b levels, and flower anthocyanin content. The data analysis used ANOVA with the F test at a 5% significance level and the DMRT. The application of paclobutrazol gave different morphological characters and plant pigments content on the three varieties of Chrysanthemum. The PBZ with higher concentration resulted in slower stem growth and increased leaf chlorophyll and flower anthocyanins levels. The JR variety produced the shortest vegetative phase, the fastest flowering time, and the highest anthocyanin content. SW had the largest flower diameter and the lowest plant height. Meanwhile, the highest levels of chlorophyll content were produced by FW. The optimum concentration of PBZ to form potted Chrysanthemum was 150 ppm.