The Effect of Gibberellic Acid and Calcium Carbonate on some Indicators of the Quality of Cut Flowers of Chrysanthemum Plant ( Dendranthema grandiflorum Ramat.)

Abstract

This experiment was carried out in the laboratory of the College of Agric. and Forestry at the University of Mosul, with the aim of studying some indicators of the cut inflorescences quality of two cultivars of the Chrysanthemum plant (Dendranthema grandiflorum Ramat.) with white and red inflorescences and delaying their senescence, as the bases of the cut inflorescences were immersed in the holding solution containing gibberellic acid at 0 and 25 mgl-1 and calcium carbonate at 0, 100 and 200 mgl-1 and their interactions. The Factorial experiment was conducted by a randomized complete block design. The results indicated that the cultivar with white inflorescences were recorded a significant increase in the values of the characteristics of the relative change in the inflorescences fresh weight and the amount of change in the inflorescences diameter, which reached to 87.79% and 87.37%, respectively, a significant increase was recorded in the volume of water absorbed by inflorescences and the inflorescences dry weight at the end of the experiment. The immersion in gibberellic acid at 25 mgl-1 resulted in a significant increase in the change of inflorescences fresh weight, change in the inflorescence diameter, volume of water absorbed of 10.19 cm3 and inflorescences dry weight 1.21 g. While immersion in calcium carbonate at 200 mgl-1 led to a significant increase in the amount of change in the inflorescences fresh weight, the change in the inflorescence's diameter, and the inflorescences dry weight, which were 87.46%, 87.38%, and 1.270 g, respectively. It can be said that the inflorescences of the red variety that were added to the preservation solution of gibberellic acid at 25 mgl-1 and calcium carbonate at 200 mgl-1 recorded the largest significant values for the characteristics of the change in the inflorescences fresh weight, change in the inflorescence diameter, and the volume of water absorbed.