Influence of planting dates on vegetative growth of cut Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) varieties under naturally ventilated polyhouse conditions

Introduction

Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) is one of the most important commercial ornamental crops, because of its wide range of flower colours, shapes, sizes and excellent vase life. It belongs to the Asteraceae family and is the second most cut flower in the world after the rose (Anderson, 2006) [1] . Chrysanthemum is used for bouquets, flower arrangement, landscape gardening and for religious and decorative purposes. In India, the use varies from region to region, loose flowers are chiefly used for garlands and floral decorations in southern india and cut flowers are more popular in northern India (Bohra et al., 2014) [2] . The increasing demand of good quality cut flowers has promoted the adoption of protected cultivation, especially naturally ventilated polyhouse for round the year production (Sharma et al., 2015) [3] . Flower yield and quality are largely determined by vegetative growth, which in turn is influenced by environmental factors, including temperature, light, humidity and photoperiod. Chrysanthemum is a qualitative short-day plant, therefore the time of planting is an important factor in controlling the vegetative growth and flowering. Besides, varietal differences have a significant impact on plant growth and biomass production in protected cultivation. Therefore, suitable planting dates and varieties are needed to obtain higher productivity and better economic return. Information on performance of cut chrysanthemum varieties under naturally ventilated polyhouse conditions in humid coastal climate of Konkan region is inadequate. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess the effect of different planting dates on the vegetative growth of cut chrysanthemum varieties under naturally ventilated polyhouse conditions and to identify the suitable combinations of variety and planting date for commercial cultivation.

Materials and methods

The experiment was carried out in a naturally ventilated polyhouse using a Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with different planting dates comprising 40 treatment combination which include ten chrysanthemum cultivars namely Artic Queen (V 1 ), Feeling Green Dark (V 2 ), Lollipop (V 3 ), Frozen (V 4 ), Pina Colada (V 5 ), Champagne Orange (V 6 ), Candor Pink (V 7 ), Champagne Yellow (V 8 ), Onana (V 9 ) and Prada Purple (V 10 ) and four planting dates i.e. August (P 1 ) September (P 2 ), October (P 3 ) and November (P 4 ) and replicated twice. Vegetative parameters, namely plant height, number of leaves, plant spread in eastwest and north-south, average leaf area, stem girth, fresh weight and dry weight were recorded from five randomly selected plants per treatment. The pooled data of two years were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance as per the method of Panse et al. (1967) [4] .

Results and discussion

The data on vegetative parameters viz., plant height, number of leaves, plant spread in east-west and north-south, average leaf area, stem girth, fresh weight and dry weight was influenced by planting dates and different varieties in treatment combination are presented in Table 1-7.

Plant height

The plant height varies significantly depending on the time of planting and variety. The highest plant height (102.25 cm and 129.06 cm) was observed at 60 and 120 DAP, respectively in treatment combinations P 4 V 9 (variety Onana in the first week of November) while, the lowest plant height (70.83 cm and 96.76 cm) was observed at 60 and 120 DAP, respectively in treatment combination P 1 V 10 (variety Prada Purple in the first week of August). This might be due to genotypic differences in phenotypic expression of plant height and favourable climatic conditions in November month which is favourable for vegetative growth (Jindal et al., 2018) [5] . Shankar and Tiwari (1993) [6] reported that plant height plays a significant role in the selection of chrysanthemum cultivars.

Number of leaves

Number of leaves per plant were significantly affected by planting date and varieties. The maximum number of leaves (40.20 and 62.52, respectively) were recorded in treatment combination P 4 V 9 (variety Onana in 1 st week of November) at 60 and 120 DAP whereas, the minimum number of leaves (18.57 and 29.31) were observed in treatment combination P 1 V 10 (variety Prada Purple in 1 st week of August) at 60 and 120 DAP, respectively. The differences in the number of leaves of various cut chrysanthemum varieties are primarily attributed to the differences of their genetic makeup (genotype), which controls the growth rate and the total vegetative development. These inherent genetic factors as well as environmental factors particularly congenial climatic conditions such as optimum temperature create a favourable environment for vegetative growth and therefore, significant differences in vegetative attributes among varieties were observed. Similar results were found in chrysanthemum by Thakur et al. (2018) [7] and Jindal et al. (2018) [5] .

Plant spread East-West

(cm): Among different treatment combinations maximum east-west plant spread (22.94 and 31.43 cm, respectively) was recorded in variety Onana in first week of November (P 4 V 9 ) at 60 and 120 DAP. However, the variety Prada Purple in the first week of August (P 1 V 10 ) had the least plant spread east-west (12.55 cm and 21.01 cm) at 60 and 120 DAP, respectively. Variation in plant spread was mainly attributed to genetic differences influencing branching habit and canopy development. Greater plant spread was associated with increased branching and a positive relationship with plant height, while favourable climatic conditions during the optimum planting period further enhanced vegetative growth. Similar findings were reported by Poonam and Kumar (2007) [8] , Madhu B. (2015) [9] , Kumar et al. (2015) [10] , Roopa et al. (2018) [11] , Parmar et al. (2019) [12] and Jindal et al. (2018) [5] in chrysanthemum.

Plant spread North-South

The plant spread north-south per plant differs significantly with respect to time of planting and varieties. The highest north-south plant spread (23.63 cm and 32.07 cm respectively) was found in treatment combination P 4 V 9 i.e. (variety Onana in first week of November) at 60 and 120 DAP. However, variety Prada Purple in the first week of August (P 1 V 10 ) had the least plant spread east-west (14.56 cm and 20.00 cm) at 60 and 120 DAP, respectively. These differences may be due to inherent genotypic differences in influencing the phenotypic expression and due to moderate temperatures and favorable light conditions that enhance photosynthesis and leaf expansion. Lower heat and humidity stress in November also promotes nutrient uptake and overall vegetative growth. This corroborates the findings of Parmar et al., (2019) [12] and Jindal et al., (2018) [5] on chrysanthemum. Average leaf area (cm 2 ): The maximum average leaf area (16.83 cm 2 and 29.77 cm 2 ) at 60 and 120 DAP, respectively, were recorded under treatment combination (P 4 V 9 ) i.e. variety Onana in 1 st week of November which were significantly superior to all other treatment combinations. In contrast, the minimum values of average leaf area (7.25 cm 2 and 14.72 cm 2 ) at 60 and 120 DAP, respectively were consistently observed under treatment combination (P 1 V 10 ) i.e. variety Prada Purple in 1 st week of August. These differences may be attributed to inherent genotypic variations influencing phenotypic expression and due to moderate temperatures and favourable light conditions, which enhance photosynthesis and leaf expansion. The reduced heat and humidity stress during November also improve nutrient uptake and overall vegetative growth. This observation is in line with Parmar et al., (2019) [12] and Jindal et al., (2018) [5] in chrysanthemum.

It is indicated that the maximum stem girth was recorded in variety Onana in 1 st week of November (P 4 V 9 ) at 60 and 120 DAP (6.99 mm and 7.49 mm, respectively), however, the minimum stem girth (4.53 mm and 5.14 mm) was recorded under the variety Prada Purple in 1 st week of August (P 1 V 10 ) at 60 and 120 DAP, respectively. The variation in stem girth among cut chrysanthemum varieties was mainly attributed to genetic differences affecting growth vigour and stem development. November planting recorded thicker stems due to favourable environmental conditions that promoted cambial activity and radial growth, whereas August planting produced thinner stems under high temperature and monsoon conditions. Similar findings were reported by Soni and Godara (2020) [13] , Patil et al. (2017) [14] in chrysanthemum and Bhagve et al. (2020) [15] in China aster.

The maximum fresh weight (59.23 g) at 120 DAP was recorded under variety Onana in 1 st week of November (P 4 V 9 ), while the minimum value of fresh weight (22.31 g) was consistently observed under variety Prada Purple in 1 st week of August (P 1 V 10 ). The observed differences among varieties may be attributed to their inherent genetic composition, which governs growth behaviour and biomass accumulation. Additionally, November planting provides favourable temperature, light and photoperiod conditions that enhance photosynthesis, nutrient uptake and prolong the vegetative phase, resulting in higher fresh weight of cut chrysanthemum. These findings are in close agreement with earlier reports by Palai et al. (2018) [16] and Thakur et al. (2018) [7] in chrysanthemum.

Dry weight g):

The maximum dry weight (10.55 g) at 120 DAP was recorded under treatment combination P 4 V 9 i.e. variety Onana in 1 st week of November, whereas the lowest pooled mean value of 4.34 g was consistently observed under treatment planting of Prada Purple in 1 st week of August (P 1 V 10 ). The variation in flower dry weight was primarily attributed to the genetic makeup of the chrysanthemum cultivars. November planting recorded significantly higher flower dry weight due to favourable temperature, light intensity and photoperiod, which enhanced photosynthesis and carbohydrate accumulation. In contrast, August planting resulted in lower dry matter production because of high temperature and heavy rainfall. Similar findings were reported by Palai et al. (2018) [16] and Thakur et al. (2018) [7] .

Conclusion

From the present investigation it can be disclosed that vegetative growth, flowering and yield of cut chrysanthemum under polyhouse conditions were significantly influenced by planting dates and vari

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17. How to cite this article: Uphade CV, Dalvi N, Parulekar Y, Jadhav H, Haldavanekar P, More V, et al. Influence of planting dates on vegetative growth of cut Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) varieties under naturally ventilated polyhouse conditions. International Journal of Research in Agronomy. 2026;9(9):1151-1156. doi: https://www.d oi.org/10.33545/2618060X.2026.v9.i9p.6658