ABSTRACT

The Carnation, scientifically known as Dianthus caryophyllus, is a popular cut flower that belongs to Caryophyllacae family and is native to the Mediterranean region, carnations are cultivated all over the world for their beauty and fragrance. The study on the performance of seven varieties of carnation namely Bizet, Kleos, Gioele, Liberty, White Liberty, Rosso and Tango was carried out in a naturally ventilated polyhouse at Hi-tech Horticulture unit, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad. The performance of varieties was compared based on the growth, flower quality parameters and economics of the crop.
Among all the varieties, Bizet recorded maximum plant height (102.34 cm) followed by White Liberty (101.98 cm), White Liberty recorded the maximum number of shoots (6.92) followed by Rosso (6.53), Shoot length was maximum in Bizet (94.07 cm), internodes are maximum in Bizet (30.19), the variety Kleos had the longest internodes (7.32 cm), Rosso recorded with maximum leaf length (15.24) and number of leaves (116.40).
The variety Rosso recorded minimum days for bud initiation (90.20 days) followed by White Liberty (92.30 days) and maximum days for flower bud initiation was observed in variety Kleos (141.23 days). Days to peak flowering was minimum (130.22) in variety Rosso followed by White Liberty (152.67 days) and maximum days for peak flowering was observed in Gioele (190.32 days).
The maximum girth of the stalk was observed in the Rosso (8.95 mm) followed by White Liberty (8.65 mm), maximum flower length was observed in White Liberty (5.79 cm) followed by Liberty (5.64 cm) and minimum flower length was observed in Bizet (4.92 cm). Variety Rosso showed a maximum number of petals (67.42), maximum flower diameter (6.87) and maximum flower longevity observed in White Liberty (9.73 days) followed by Rosso (9.65 days).