INTRODUCTION Cut-foliage industry has made a major breakthrough in floriculture business. Most foliage plants are indigenous to tropical and subtropical regions. In general, foliage plants are grown as understory plants in the canopy of giant trees. As a result, foliage plants are native to this type of environment, are tolerant to low light, sensitive to chilling temperature and are day-neutral to photoperiod. In subtropical climes, temperature as well as humidity may vary with season. Among various parameters, leaf characters assume significance for their use as cut-foliage. Of the total turnover and supply of floricultural products during 2010 (€ 4130 million), indoor foliage plants alone contributed € 1445 million (Rs. 99.23 billion) in global floricultural trade (Anon., 2011a). Some of the important indoor foliage plants (genera) occupying world-rank lists in 2010 Anthurium, Kalanchoe, Dracaena, Ficus, Spathiphyllum, Hedera, Begonia, Chrysalidocarpus (lutescens) and Zamioculcas. Recent data showed that floricultural products (live trees and other plants, bulbs, roots and the like; cut-flowers and ornamental foliage) exported from India stood at Rs. 28,645 lakh during the 2010-11 fiscal years. In the same period, imports were valued at Rs. 4,548 lakh (Anon., 2011b). The trend shows that India has been slowly accelerating its pace in the international trade. As for the foliage plant industry, during 2008-2009 more than 39% of the total export from India Evaluation of cut-foliage plants for Eastern Ghats I. Suryapriya, R. Arulmozhiyan*, A. Sankari1 and M. Anand1 Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Tiruchirappalli- 620 009, India *E-mail: arulmozhiyan@yahoo.co.in ABSTRACT A maiden attempt was made at Horticultural Research Station (HRS), a constituent research unit of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, located at Yercaud, Salem District, Tamil Nadu, India during 2012-2013 to assess the suitability of various ornamental foliage plant species under Shevroys /Eastern Ghats conditions. Considerable variation was found in quantitative and qualitative parameters among the foliage species. The study recommends Nephrolepis cordifolia and Asparagus sprengeri as suitable liners, while, large-leaved species like Cordyline fruticosa and Philodendron xanadu as background materials in larger arrangements, and the smaller-leaved Dracaena reflexa var. angustifolia for smaller arrangements. Key words: Foliage plants, arrangements, liner, background material was contributed by foliage products, fresh or dry. However, in view of the importance of foliage ornamentals, an experiment was formulated to evaluate 29 foliage species collected from various sources to identify suitable cut-foliage species for the Shevroys region. MATERIAL AND METHODS An experiment was conducted using 29 foliage species (Table 1) at Horticultural Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Yercaud, during the year 2012- 2013 to evaluate their suitability for foliage. The experimental site is geographically situated between 11° 04" and 11° 05" North Latitude and 78° 05" to 78° 23" East Longitude, at an altitude of 1500m above Mean Sea Level. Average maximum and minimum temperatures during the experimental period were 31.0oC and 12.4oC, respectively. The mean annual rainfall received by Yercaud was 1572mm in 47 rainy days. Average relative humidity was 75%. Irrigation was provided at intervals of 5-6 days throughout the period of experiment, depending upon soil moisture status and weather conditions. All the foliage species were planted at a spacing of 1m × 0.8m. The study was patterned on Randomized Block Design, with three replications. Five plants from each replication were observed for biometrics on plant height (cm), plant spread (cm), leaf length (cm), leaf breadth (cm), number of shoots, leaf area, longevity, petiole length and girth (cm), and internodal length (cm) besides qualitative characters like leaf shape, margin, texture, venation, leaf 1Horticultural Research Station, TNAU, Ooty, India J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 10(1):24-29, 2015 25 Evaluation of cut-foliage plants for Eastern Ghats apex and foliage colour. Data was compiled, analyzed and is presented in Tables 2 & 3. Post-harvest treatments like pulsing and holding solution were also studied. In pulsing treatment, mature leaf from each species was harvested and treatments imposed for six hours. Details of the pulsing treatments are as follows: Po – Filtered water, P1- Acidified water (pH 3.5), P2- Sucrose 5%, P3- Sucrose 5% + AgNO3 50ppm, and, P4- Sucrose 5% + AgNO3 100ppm. After pulsing, the foliage was transferred to water for comparing the effects of treatments. Foliage from different species was subjected to the following holding treatments: Ho – Filtered water, H1- Acidified water (pH 3.5), H2- Sucrose 5%, H3- Sucrose 5% + AgNO3 25ppm and, H4- Sucrose 5% + AgNO3 50ppm. Vase-life was calculated by noting the time taken to develop symptoms like leaf-drop, yellowing and wilting (factors that rendered the foliage unfit for arrangement). Observations on vase-life in combination treatments were noted for a period of ten weeks. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION On evaluation, it was found that all the foliage plants had significant differences in the characters studied. Quantitative characters of different foliage species is presented in Table 2. Plant height recorded ranged from 37.70cm to 31.40cm. Cordyline fruticosa recorded the highest plant height (131.4cm), followed by Dracaena Purple compacta (102cm) and Asparagus sprengeri (92.7cm). Lowest plant height was recorded in Dracaena fragrans ‘Lemon lime’, with 37.7cm. A similar trend was also reported by Russ and Pertuit (2001) in various foliage plants like Dracaena, Philodendron, Schefflera, and some indoor ferns. Plant-spread is an important character when considering the foliage for its growing environment. It gives an idea about the number of plants that can be accommodated in a given area (plant density). However, in climbers, plant-spread had lesser relevance compared to that in the others that had vertical growth. The highest plant- spread of 117.59cm East-West, and 118.18cm North-South, was noticed in Asparagus sprengeri. Lowest plant-spread was noticed in Philodendron Green Emerald (30.63cm E- W, 33.37cm N-S). Similar variations were observed by Eapen (2003). Number of leaves ranged from 13.51 to 196.67. Maximum number of leaves was recorded in Dracaena reflexa ‘Song of Jamaica’ (196.67), followed by Dracaena reflexa var. angustifolia (185.00), Asparagus setaceous (137.27) and Dracaena marginata (78.95). Lowest number of leaves was observed in Philodendron ‘Ceylon gold’ (13.5). Basically, species with larger leaves tended to produce less number of leaves, whereas, species with smaller leaves had greater number of leaves. This variation was due to several factors like genetic make-up, partition of the photosynthates, production of more number of branches and tillers, etc. Our results confirmed the findings of Bulle and Dejongh (2001) and Benedetto et al (2006). Number of shoots too is an important characters contributing to yield. In the present study, shoot number differed significantly between species. Dracaena reflexa var. angustifolia registered higher number of shoots (7.7), followed by Dracaena reflexa (Song of Jamaica) (6.5) Table 1. List of foliage species evaluated in Shevroys of Eastern Ghats in Tamil Nadu Botanical name Family Common name Aglaonema crispum Araceae Chinese evergreen Anthurium andreanum Araceae Lady Jane Asparagus sprengeri Liliaceae Sprengeri fern Asparagus densiflorus Liliaceae Asparagus fern Asparagus setaceous Liliaceae Fern asparagus Cordyline Chocolate Agavaceae Ti plant queen Cordyline Chocolate swirl Agavaceae Ti plant Cordyline compacta Araceae Ti plant Cordyline fruticosa Agavaceae Ti plant Cordyline negra Agavaceae Ti plant Cordyline tango Agavaceae Ti plant Cordyline terminalis Agavaceae Ti plant Dracaena Agavaceae Ti plant ‘Purple compacta’ Dracaena compacta Agavaceae Dracaena Dracaena fragrans Agavaceae Dracaena ‘Lemon lime’ Dracaena fragrans Agavaceae Corn plant ‘Massangeana’ Dracaena marginata Agavaceae Red-edged Dracaena Dracaena reflexa var. Agavaceae Song of India angustifolia Dracaena reflexa var. Agavaceae Dracaena Tropical Dracaena reflexa Agavaceae Song of Jamaica ‘Song of Jamaica’ Dracaena sanderiana Agavaceae Corn plant Heliconia rostrata Heliconiaceae Lobster claw Nephrolepis cordifolia Polypodiaceae Erect sword Fern Nephrolepis falcata Polypodiaceae Fishtail sword Fern Philodendron ‘Ceylone gold’ Araceae Philodendron Philodendron Green emerald Araceae Philodendron Philodendron imbe ‘Variegata’ Araceae Philodendron Philodendron Red emerald Araceae Philodendron Philodendron xanadu Araceae Philodendron J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 10(1):24-29, 2015 26 and the lowest number of shoots (1.0) was observed in the species of Heliconia rostrata, Philodendron Red emerald, Cordyline compacta, Cordyline terminalis, Philodendron Green emerald, Philodendron ‘Ceylon gold’ and Philodendron imbe ‘Variegata’. Highest leaf area was observed in Philodendron imbe ‘Variegated’ (321.67cm2) followed by Dracaena fragans ‘Massangeana’ (Corn plant) with 289.79cm2, and Philodendron Red emerald (240.75cm2). Lowest leaf area was observed in Asparaus sprengeri (3.19cm2). Length and girth of petiole are important characters for cut-foliage giving physical support to the leaf. Also, length of the leaf contributes to the spread of a plant. More the petiole length, greater the plant spread. If the petiole is short, high compactness is noticed in leaf arrangement. Petiole length ranged from 2.63cm to 22.23cm. Table 2. Quantitative characters of various foliage species Species Plant Plant spread Leaf Shoot Leaf Petiole Petiole Inter- Leaf height E-W N-S no. number area length girth nodal longevity (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm2) (cm) (cm) length (d) (cm) Aglaonema crispum 59.80 55.93 50.74 19.50 2.10 130.6 7.75 3.19 - 24.50 Anthurium andreanum 69.90 86.63 88.53 17.50 - 93.06 17.30 2.29 - 22.70 Asparagus sprengeri 92.70 117.59 118.18 55.37 - 3.19 5.24 2.23 - 24.00 Asparagus densiflorus 57.80 34.22 41.50 14.57 - 14.89 5.79 1.50 - 22.40 Asparagus setaceous 53.20 44.73 44.35 133.27 - 33.02 6.25 1.44 - 22.50 Cordyline 54.80 34.68 36.27 30.10 3.30 86.53 4.72 3.66 - 19.00 Chocolate queen Cordyline 61.90 40.07 44.13 30.18 3.40 89.60 4.82 3.47 - 21.70 Chocolate swirl Cordyline compacta 37.80 39.38 42.80 15.58 1.00 67.62 3.85 2.49 - 19.10 Cordyline fruticosa 131.40 68.03 67.53 30.89 3.30 214.1 6.07 3.28 - 19.90 Cordyline negra 45.40 39.71 41.10 16.52 1.80 171.1 4.19 2.69 - 17.90 Cordyline tango 42.00 42.25 44.20 30.82 4.20 67.98 2.81 2.50 - 18.80 Cordyline terminalis 81.20 59.88 64.44 28.41 1.00 80.16 7.77 2.67 - 21.80 Dracaena 78.30 32.69 37.11 74.97 2.50 42.79 2.63 2.59 - 23.00 ‘Purple compacta’ Dracaena compacta 54.00 33.68 39.00 71.28 4.30 41.81 - - - 22.40 Dracaena fragrans 37.70 47.64 58.43 24.42 - 39.91 - - - 23.50 ‘Lemon lime’ Dracaena fragrans 79.10 77.86 83.94 39.52 1.90 289.7 - - - 26.70 ‘Massangeana’ Dracaena marginata 102.0 67.16 70.68 78.95 1.80 32.33 - - - 23.20 Dracaena reflexa 48.20 62.88 71.93 185.0 7.70 17.28 - - 2.09 19.70 var. angustifolia Dracaena reflexa 53.60 39.83 45.01 36.62 3.80 20.49 - - 1.36 23.50 var. Tropical Dracaena reflexa 72.10 65.98 70.12 196.67 6.50 32.42 - - - 23.20 ‘Song of Jamaica’ Dracaena sanderiana 56.90 63.09 66.60 25.08 1.00 70.44 - - - 23.10 Heliconia rostrata 65.80 63.00 71.31 22.40 1.00 47.19 5.61 2.73 - 23.00 Nephrolepis cordifolia 58.20 49.81 50.93 32.08 - 72.13 7.44 0.45 - 22.70 Nephrolepis falcata 64.30 57.34 51.73 19.07 - 43.67 4.53 0.27 - 23.60 Philodendron 36.80 54.40 56.13 13.51 1.00 38.47 5.79 2.64 2.96 19.50 ‘Ceylon gold’ Philodendron 50.90 30.63 33.37 21.11 1.00 56.76 14.29 3.28 1.72 18.00 Green emerald Philodendron imbe 53.80 34.93 56.93 14.57 1.00 321.6 16.81 3.65 - 24.60 ‘Variegata’ Philodendron 70.00 86.80 97.63 19.27 1.00 240.7 5.85 3.82 3.62 22.80 Red emerald Philodendron xanadu 47.60 70.24 73.83 42.40 - 61.15 22.23 2.67 - 18.50 S.Ed. 3.66 3.13 3.96 10.72 0.57 20.11 0.31 0.13 0.19 0.64 CD (P=0.05) 7.33 6.28 7.94 21.48 1.15 40.3 0.63 0.27 0.38 1.28 Suryapriya et al J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 10(1):24-29, 2015 27 Philodendron xanadu recorded the longest petiole (22.23cm), the shortest petiole was observed in Dracaena ‘Purple compacta’ (2.63cm). Maximum petiole girth (3.82cm) was recorded in Philodendron Red emerald. Minimum petiole girth was observed in Nephrolepsis falcata (Fishtail sword fern), with 0.27cm. These results are in accordance with those of Wang and Chen (2003) and Mollick et al (2011). As for internode length, most species had short and compact internodes, the very first qualities sought out in decoration. Highest internode length was observed in Philodendron Red emerald (3.62cm), followed by Philodendron ‘Ceylon gold’ (2.96cm) while, the minimum was observed in Dracaena reflexa var. Tropical (1.36cm). Leaf longevity on the plant is linked to leaf production intervals. If a plant produces leaves at longer intervals, longevity of the leaf is found to be higher. Longevity of the Table 3. Qualitative characters of various foliage species Treatment Leaf Venation Leaf Leaf Leaf Leaf Texture of Foliage type shape margin tip orientation the leaf colour Aglaonema crispum Simple Pinnate Oblong Entire Acute Cuneate Smooth Pale green Anthurium andreanum Simple Pinnate Acuminate Entire Acute Cuneate Smooth Deep green Asparagus sprengeri Simple none Linear Entire Acute Cuneate Fine Deep green Asparagus densiflorus Simple none Linear Entire Acute Cuneate Fine Deep green Asparagus setaceous Simple none Linear Entire Acute Cuneate Fine Deep green Dracaena ‘Purple compacta’ Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Attenate Smooth Deep purple Dracaena compacta Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Attenate Smooth Deep green Dracaena fragrans Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Attenate Fine Yellow ‘Lemon lime’ Dracaena fragrans Simple Parallel Lanceolate Undulate Acute Attenate Coarse Deep green ‘Massangeana’ Dracaena marginata Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Attenate Smooth Purple Dracaena reflexa var. Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Attenate Smooth Pale yellow angustifolia Dracaena reflexa Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Attenate Smooth Deep green ‘Song of Jamaica’ Dracaena reflexa ‘Green’ Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Attenate Smooth Deep purple Dracaena sanderiana Simple Parallel Lanceolate Undulate Acute Attenate Coarse Pale green Cordyline Chocolate queen Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Decurrent Smooth Deep green Cordyline Chocolate swirl Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Decurrent Smooth Pale sandal Cordyline compacta Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Decurrent Smooth Deep purple Cordyline fruticosa Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Attenate Smooth Deep green Cordyline negra Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Decurrent Smooth Deep pink Cordyline tango Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Decurrent Smooth Deep purple Cordyline terminalis Simple Parallel Lanceolate Entire Acute Decurrent Smooth Deep green Heliconia rostrata Simple Pinnate Ovate Entire Acute Cuneate Smooth Deep green Nephrolepis cordifolia Simple none Lanceolate Entire Acute Cuneate Fine Deep green Nephrolepis falcata Simple none Lanceolate Entire Acute Cuneate Fine Deep green Philodendron Simple Pinnate Lanceolate Entire Acute Cuneate Smooth Golden Yellow ‘Ceylon gold’ Philodendron Green emerald Simple Pinnate Lanceolate Entire Acute Cuneate Smooth Deep green Philodendron imbe ‘Variegata’ Simple Pinnate Lanceolate Entire Acute Cuneate Smooth Deep green Philodendron Red emerald Simple Pinnate Saggitate Revolute Acute Cuneate Coarse Deep purple Philodendron xanadu Simple Pinnate Entire Entire Acute Decurrent Coarse Deep green leaves on a plant depends upon environmental conditions, genetic factors and incidence of pests and diseases. Longer life of leaves on the plant also helps stagger harvest of the leaves. Under normal conditions, foliage of Dracaena fragrans ‘Massangeana’ (26.7 days), Philodendron imbe ‘Variegata’ (24.6 days) and Aglaonema crispum (24.5 days) was found to have the highest longevity among the plants evaluated. However, shrub-like Cordyline negra (17.9 days) showed lower longevity of leaves than other species (Alex, 2012). Qualitative traits of different foliage plants are presented in Table 3. Characters like texture, type, shape, margin, tip, base, pigmentation, venation, arrangement of leaves and branching habit, were considered as these relate to aesthetic value of the plants and the arrangement. Plants like Dracaena reflexa var. angustifolia (Song of India), Dracaena reflexa ‘Song of Jamaica’, Anthurium J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 10(1):24-29, 2015 Evaluation of cut-foliage plants for Eastern Ghats 28 Table 5. Effect of the holding solution on cut foliage plants at Shevroys condition (days) Name of the species H 0 H 1 H 2 H 3 H 4 Aglaonema crispum 8.40 6.70 10.7 14.0 13.6 Anthurium andreanum 6.40 6.50 11.3 15.0 15.5 Asparagus sprengeri 6.70 7.20 11.5 15.3 15.3 Asparagus densiflorus 5.70 6.40 10.0 12.7 14.1 Asparagus setaceous 7.30 5.80 11.3 13.6 15.5 Cordyline Chocolate queen 7.40 7.50 12.5 12.9 13.7 Cordyline Chocolate swirl 6.90 5.70 13.4 14.7 15.2 Cordyline fruticosa 7.20 7.50 10.9 13.3 14.5 Cordyline negra 6.40 6.60 11.4 12.3 14.1 Cordyline tango 7.00 7.50 12.2 13.4 13.7 Cordyline terminalis 7.30 6.20 9.90 13.3 14.5 Cordylne compacta 7.00 7.00 11.6 13.5 15.3 Dracaena ‘Purple compacta’ 7.10 6.10 11.5 12.9 12.9 Dracaena compacta 6.20 6.30 11.7 14.1 15.7 Dracaena fragrans 7.10 6.20 11.2 12.4 16.2 ‘Lemon lime’ Dracaena fragrans 8.40 7.30 11.5 15.0 15.5 ‘Massangeana’ Dracaena marginata 5.20 5.40 10.4 14.5 15.2 Dracaena reflexa 7.00 7.50 8.60 15.1 14.7 Dracaena reflexa var. 6.50 6.60 11.3 13.6 14.5 Tropical Dracaena reflexa 7.20 5.60 10.3 15.9 16.3 ‘Song of Jamaica’ Dracaena sanderiana 6.50 7.20 12.6 14.5 16.1 Heliconia rostrata 7.40 6.00 11.3 13.7 14.3 Nephrolepis cordifolia 7.80 6.50 10.1 12.1 14.4 Nephrolepis falcata 7.60 6.90 12.2 14.3 15.3 Philodendron ‘Ceylone gold’ 6.50 5.90 11.9 10.0 13.4 Philodendron Green emerald 7.70 6.00 12.1 14.1 15.4 Philodendron imbe ‘Variegata’ 6.30 6.80 11.4 15.3 15.1 Philodendron Red emerald 7.70 6.70 11.7 13.1 16.2 Philodendron xanadu 7.90 6.40 11.9 12.9 14.4 S.Ed. 0.40 0.36 0.70 1.10 0.74 CD (P= 0.05) 0.81 0.72 1.40 2.21 1.49 *Ho - Filtered water, H1- Acidified water (pH 3.5), H2 - Sucrose 5%, H3 - Sucrose 5% + AgNO3 25ppm, H4 - Sucrose 5% + AgNO3 50ppm Table 4. Effect of pulsing treatment on cut foliage at Shevroys condition (days) Name of the species P 0 P 1 P 2 P 3 P 4 Aglaonema crispum 8.40 10.1 12.3 10.3 15.8 Anthurium andreanum 10.0 10.1 11.8 10.8 17.4 Asparagus sprengeri 7.60 8.50 10.5 8.90 17.5 Asparagus densiflorus 7.50 7.90 9.50 8.30 18.6 Asparagus setaceous 8.00 9.20 12.3 9.90 17.9 Cordyline Chocolate queen 8.70 10.4 11.8 10.3 20.3 Cordyline Chocolate swirl 7.80 8.30 10.3 8.80 17.1 Cordyline fruticosa 8.60 8.20 9.10 8.70 19.7 Cordyline negra 8.30 9.50 10.6 9.50 18.5 Cordyline tango 10.4 10.5 11.5 10.8 18.3 Cordyline terminalis 8.30 9.50 10.8 9.50 19.4 Cordylne compacta 8.50 10.4 10.1 9.70 19.5 Dracaena ‘Purple compacta’ 9.20 10.1 10.6 10.0 20.6 Dracaena compacta 9.60 9.80 9.60 9.70 16.8 Dracaena fragrans 9.30 11.7 12.7 11.2 16.5 ‘Lemon lime’ Dracaena fragrans 10.40 9.00 12.9 10.8 19.0 ‘Massangeana’ Dracaena marginata 8.10 9.90 12.0 10.0 20.1 Dracaena reflexa 12.9 9.80 10.2 10.9 17.1 Dracaena reflexa var. 8.50 8.20 9.50 8.70 18.4 Tropical Dracaena reflexa 9.10 8.90 9.40 9.10 17.9 ‘Song of Jamaica’ Dracaena sanderiana 9.10 9.00 9.70 9.20 19.7 Heliconia rostrata 7.90 8.10 13.3 9.80 19.9 Nephrolepis cordifolia 8.90 8.90 11.2 9.70 19.3 Nephrolepis falcata 8.80 8.30 10.5 9.20 17.1 Philodendron ‘Ceylone gold’ 7.40 8.30 10.8 8.80 17.0 Philodendron Green emerald 8.20 7.80 10.3 8.80 19.6 Philodendron imbe ‘Variegata’ 7.70 8.20 11.3 9.10 17.5 Philodendron Red emerald 9.20 8.90 11.3 9.80 17.9 Philodendron xanadu 8.00 8.20 10.1 8.70 20.0 SEd 0.48 0.55 0.61 0.88 0.74 CD (P=0.05) 0.97 1.11 1.23 1.77 1.49 P0 – Filtered water, P1- Acidified water (pH 3.5), P2- Sucrose 5%, P3- Sucrose 5% + AgNO3 50ppm, P4- Sucrose 5% + AgNO3100ppm andreanum (Lady Jane), Philodendron ‘Ceylon gold’ and Asparagus sprengeri (Sprengeri fern), need adequate staking, as, these tend to bend. Nephrolepis cordifolia (Erect sword fern), Nephrolepis falcata (Fishtail sword fern) and Asparagus setaceous (Asparagus fern) need adequate pruning. Plants were also rated according to their quality (characters like colour, texture and pigmentation). Among Dracaena species, Dracaena reflexa var. angustifolia rated as good. Similarly, in Cordyline species - Cordyline fruticosa, Philodendron species - Philodendron xanadu, Nephrolepis species - Nephrolepis cordifolia, and Asparagus species - Asparagus sprengeri, performed well under Eastern Ghats. These can be recommended as the best foliage plants, possessing all the qualities (to be grown in any type of growing conditions); these are also well-suited for testing under open conditions. This type of visual quality- grading was done earlier by Wang et al (2005). Keeping-quality is of prime commercial importance in the trade of cut-foliage, besides aesthetics. Pre-harvest and post-harvest factors, together with the stage and time of harvest, determine keeping-quality of the foliage for vase- life. If harvested at the immature or over-mature stage, the foliage does not keep well, and, the desired effect of foliar variegation is not fully achieved by a foliage arrangement. Generally, foliage is cut when mature, having fully attained its shape, colour and size. Kumar and Bhattacharjee (2003) reported foliage of Calathea ornata, Codiam varigatam, J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 10(1):24-29, 2015 Suryapriya et al 29 Dracaena sp. and Nephrolepis sp. as having longer vase- life when the leaves were mature and fully expanded. Pulsing is a short-term treatment given to cut-foliage immediately following harvest, to improve keeping quality. Data on effect of pulsing solutions on vase-life of different species of cut-foliage are furnished in Table 4. Among the pulsing solutions used, highest vase-life was recorded in Dracaena ‘Purple compacta’ under P4 (Sucrose 5% + AgNO3100ppm), with 20.6 days. This was significantly superior to the other pulsing solutions and was followed by Cordyline ‘Chocolate queen’ in P 4 (Sucrose 5% + AgNO3100ppm), with 20.3 days. Minimum vase-life of 7.5 days was recorded in Po (Filtered water) in Asparagus densiflorus. Data on effect of holding solutions on vase-life of different species of cut-foliage are furnished in Table 5. Holding solutions significantly influenced vase-life. Among the holding solutions tested, highest vase-life was recorded in H4 (Sucrose 5% + AgNO3 50ppm), with 16.3 days in Dracaena reflexa ‘Song of Jamaica’. This was significantly superior to other holding treatments, followed by H3 (Sucrose 5% + AgNO3 25ppm) with 16.2 days in Dracaena fragrans ‘Lemon lime’ and Philodendron Red emerald. A minimum vase-life of 5.4 days was recorded in Dracaena marginata in H1 (Acidified water). In conclusion, Nephrolepis cordifolia and Asparagus sprengeri can be recommended as suitable liners, while, large-leaved species like Cordyline fruticosa and Philodendron xanadu as background materials for larger arrangements, and the smaller-leaved Dracaena reflexa var. angustifolia for smaller arrangements. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors are thankful to Tamil Nadu agricultural University, Coimbatore, and AICRP-Floriculture, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, for financial assistance for successful conduct of the experiment at Horticultural Research Station, Yercaud. REFERENCES Alex, R. 2012. Evaluation of foliage plants for interior plantscaping. Ph.D. thesis, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, Thrissur, Kerala, India, 130p Anonymus, 2011a. Facts and Figures, 2010 [on-line]. Flora Holland (Dutch Agricultural Wholesale Board/ Flowers and Plants): http://www.floraholland.com [22 Dec. 11] Anonymus, 2011b. DGCIS [Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics], Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India [on- line]: http://www.dgciskol.nic.in [21 Dec. 2011] Benedetto, A.D., Molinari, J., Boschi, C., Benedicto, D., Cerrotta, M. and Cerrotta, G. 2006. Estimating crop productivity for five ornamental foliage plants. Int’l. J. Agri. Res., 1:522-533 Bulle, A. and De Jongh, M. 2001. Effects of growing conditions on the shelf life of Ficus benjamina. Acta Hort., 543:113-117 Eapen, S.M. 2003. Evaluation of tropical plant species for use as cut foliage. M.Sc. (Hort.) thesis, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, Thrissur, Kerala, India, 74p Kumar, V. and Bhattacharjee, S.K. 2003. Exploring cut greens for florist trade. Indian Hort., 47:4-9 Mollick, A.S., Shimoji, H., Denda, T., Yokata, M. and Yamasaki, H. 2011. Croton - Codiaeum variegatum (L.) Blume cultivars characterized by leaf phenotypic parameters. Sci. Hort., 132:71-79 Russ, K. and Peruit, A. 2001. Foliage plants. http:// hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets-/HGICI1504 Wang, Q. and Chen, J. 2003. Variation of photosynthetic characteristics and leaf area contributes to Spathiphyllum cultivar differences in biomass production. Photosynthetica, 41:443- 447 Wang, Q., Chen, J., Stamps, R.H. and Li, Y. 2005. Correlation of visual quality grading and SPAD reading of green leaves foliage plants. J. Pl. Nutr., 28:1215-1225 (MS Received 29 October 2014, Revised 03 January 2015, Accepted 20 January 2015) J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 10(1):24-29, 2015 Evaluation of cut-foliage plants for Eastern Ghats