Effect of Pinching on Growth, Yield, and Quality of African Marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) cv. Pusa Narangi Gainda
Kanheya Lal Yadav *
Division of Horticulture, Rajasthan Agricultural Research Institute Durgapura, Jaipur (Rajasthan), 302018, India.
Ram Swaroop Meena
Division of Horticulture, Rajasthan Agricultural Research Institute Durgapura, Jaipur (Rajasthan), 302018, India.
Kamlesh Kumar Yadav
Department of Horticulture, S.K.N College of Agriculture, SKN Agriculture University, Jobner, Jaipur, (Rajasthan), 303329, India.
Udit Joshi
Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar, Uddham Singh Nagar, 263145, Uttarakhand, India.
Aushtosh Mishra
Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture and Forestry Jhalawar, (Rajasthan), 326023, India.
Bhagchand Yadav
SRF, Directorate of Research, SKRAU, Bikaner, (Rajasthan) 334006, India.
Komal Yadav
Department of Fruit Science, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwavidyalaya Gwalior, (Madhya Pradesh) 474002, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Marigold is a very common and a hardy flower crop cultivated throughout the world. Pinching is an important intercultural practice commonly followed in cultivation of marigold however, this needs to be standardized for getting higher yields in commercial cultivation. Hence, the present investigation was conducted at Rajasthan Agricultural Research Institute, Durgapura, Jaipur, Division of Horticulture, during 2020-21 and 2021-22 to standardize the commercial pinching practice for getting higher productivity. Three levels of pinching (no pinching, single at 20 days and double at 20 and 40 days after transplanting) were used in the course of the research arranged using a factorial randomized block layout with three replications applied to African marigold variety Pusa Narangi Gainda. The results revealed that treatment P0 (No pinching) was discovered to be the finest in increment in height of plant, early flower bud initiation flower opening and treatment P2 (Double pinching) in boosting spread of plant, primary branches, length of leaf, leaf width, leaf area, plant fresh weight, plant dry weight, total biomass, root- shoot ratio, 50% flowering, flower diameter, stalk and ray floret length, fresh and dry flower weight, mass and number of flower per plant, flower yield additionally improved quality characteristics like chlorophyll and xanthophyll content in marigold. Hence, it might be concluded that application of double pinching can be helpful and recommended in improving yield as well as quality characteristics in commercial cultivation of marigold.
Keywords: Growth characteristics, flowers, marigold, pinching and quality attributes