Performance of Lilium (Lilium elegans L.) Genotypes using Different Planting Media

To investigate the best type of planting medium and selecting a particular genotype for District Swabi climatic conditions, an experiment was conducted in the horticulture nursery, University of Swabi, Pakistan in the year 2019. Five Lilium genotypes viz., Star gazer, Star fighter, BomiYellow, Red carpet and Yena were tested in four type of planting media viz., M1-sandy soil+ Compost (1:1; v/v), M2- sandy soil+Humic acid (20:1;v/v), M3- sandy soil+ Peatmoss (1:1;v/v), M4-sandy soil+Potting soil (1:1;v/v). in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications. The lilium genotype Bomi Yellow performed well in terms of maximum plant height (72cm), highest number of flowers (5.4) and least days to flowering (45.92 days). However, maximum number of leaves (53.3) were recorded in genotype Red carpet and largest (17.67cm) flowers were noted in genotype Yena. On the other hand, the genotype Star fighter started flowering after 125.17 days and other varieties were found between the two-genotype range, covering a large period of flowering. As far as the planting medium is concerned, lilium planted on medium containing compost took maximum (85.07) days to flowering while maximum plant height (54.4cm) was achieved at Humic acid and maximum number of leaves (29.4) and flower size (16cm) was found at medium containing potting soil. Maximum number of flowers (3.8) were recorded in medium containing peat moss (M3). All the genotypes of lilium were found satisfactory under the agro-climatic conditions of Swabi-Pakistan except Star gazer.