Effect of Potassium and Maleic Hydrazide on Growth and Flower Quality of Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum)

An experiment on the effect of potassium and maleic hydrazide on growth and flower quality of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum) was carried out at Ornamental Nursery, Department of Horticulture, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University, Peshawar during 2011. Suckers of chrysanthemums were planted during the first week of January and transplanted in 20 cm clay pots in July. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with two factors replicated three times. Different levels of potassium (0, 100, 200 and 300 mg pot-1) and maleic hydrazide (0, 500, 1000 and 1500 ppm) were used. The results revealed that potassium levels significantly influenced all the parameters except the stem diameter. Minimum days to flowering (118.1), maximum plant height (45.83 cm), number of leaves plant-1 (54.1), fresh flower weight (44.29 g) and dry flower weight (5.12 g) was obtained with the application of 200 mg K2O pot-1. In case of maleic hydrazide, the plants grown under control treatment took minimum days (112.9) to flowering, maximum plant height (47.06 cm) and number of leaves (57.89) plant-1. Maximum fresh flower weight (47.85 g) and dry flower weight (5.80 g) was observed with 1500 ppm maleic hydrazide. The interaction between “potassium” and “maleic hydrazide” showed significant effects for some of the growth parameters. It can be concluded that potassium at the rate of 200 mg pot-1 and maleic Hydrazide at 1500 ppm provided the best results for quality chrysanthemum flower production under the agro climatic conditions of Peshawar, Pakistan.