Marigold is one of the most popular flowering annuals
cultivated in India. It is one of the commonly grown flowers,
and is used extensively in religious and social functions in
different forms. It has gained popularity among gardeners
and flower dealers on account of ease of cultivation. In the
recent past, the enterprise has become highly remunerative
to traditional floriculture in India on account of various
commercial uses of this flower. Marigold is often referred
to as the versatile crop with golden harvest. Flower yield is
mainly dependent on the number of flower-bearing, branches
which can be manipulated by arresting vertical growth of
the plant and by encouraging side shoots to develop, with
apical-bud pinching. Such side shoots have a better chance
of bearing flowers and, in turn, lead to higher flower yield.
Similarly, application of growth retardants in horticultural
crops has a marked broad-range of effects, both
morphological and physiological. Effect of growth retardants
varies with plant species, variety, concentration, method of
application, frequency of application and various other

Short communication

J. Hortl. Sci.
Vol. 10(1):109-111, 2015

Effect of pinching and growth retardants on growth and flowering in African
marigold cv. Pusa Narangi Gainda

K. Sasikumar, V. Baskaran* and K. Abirami
Division of Floriculture and Landscaping

ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)
New Delhi – 110012, India

*E-mail: vbaski01@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
A study on the effect of pinching and application of growth retardants on growth and flowering in African marigold

cv. ‘Pusa Narangi Gainda’ was carried out in the experimental field of Division of Floriculture and Landscaping,
Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. Treatments comprised pinching, CCC applied at 1000ppm, 1500ppm
or 2000ppm, MH at 500ppm, 1500ppm or 2000ppm; B-9 at 500ppm, 750ppm or 1000ppm, and a Control (no pinching).
CCC at 2000ppm recorded minimum plant height (46.0cm), maximum plant-spread (56.0cm) and maximum number
of branches (19.0), whereas, maximum plant height (67.0cm), minimum plant-spread (29.66cm) and minimum number
of branches (5.33) were recorded in Control (non-pinching). As for flowering and yield, application of CCC at 2000ppm
recorded maximum flowering-duration (25.33 days), number of flowers per plant (40), single-flower weight (119.46g),
flower yield per plant (408.10g), flower yield per unit area (17.83t/ha) and seed yield per plant (17.80 g), Maximum
flower diameter (7.93cm) was recorded with application of CCC 2000ppm, whereas, minimum was recorded with
pinching (6.2cm). Spray of growth retardants enhanced flower yield compared to that in Control (no pinching).
Maximum shelf-life of flower was recorded with CCC 2000ppm (3.66 days), whereas, minimum was recorded with
pinching and non-pinching (2.33 days). Thus, application of CCC at 2000ppm is superior to other treatments tested
for increasing flower yield in marigold.

Key words: Marigold, pinching, non-pinching, growth retardants

factors influencing uptake and translocation of nutrients. In
view of its importance in commercial flower production, the
present investigation was initiated with an objective to
develop suitable agro-techniques for enhanced flower
production in African marigold cv. Pusa Narangi Gainda.

An experiment was conducted at the research farm
of Division of Floriculture and Landscaping, ICAR-Indian
Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. Eleven
treatments were imposed viz., Chloremequat chloride (CCC)
at 1000ppm (T1), 1500ppm (T2), 2000 ppm (T3); Malic
hydrazide (MH) at 500ppm (T4), 1000ppm (T5), 1500ppm
(T6); Alar (B-nine) at 500ppm (T7), 750ppm (T8), 1000ppm
(T9); Pinching (T10), and non-pinching [Control] (T11). The
experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design, with
three replications. Seedlings were transplanted at a spacing
of 45cm x 45cm. Meristematic bud was pinched three weeks
after transplant. Freshly-prepared growth retardants were
sprayed at different concentrations. The first spray was

*Present address: Central Island Agricultural Research Institute (CIARI), Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India



110

applied three weeks after transplanting, while the second
spray was scheduled at five weeks after transplanting. Five
plants were randomly selected in the net plot area and tagged
with labels in each treatment to record observation on growth
and yield. Crop management practices like nutrient irrigation
weed management and plant protection measures were
included as per requirement of the crop. Data on various
parameters were recorded and subjected to statistical
analysis.

Data presented in Table 1 reveal that pinching and
application of different growth retardants at various levels
influenced growth, flowering and yield significantly in
marigold. The treatments were effective in suppressing plant
height compared to Control. CCC at 2000ppm recorded
minimum plant height (46.0cm), maximum plant-spread
(56.0cm) and maximum number of branches (19.0),
whereas, maximum plant height (67.0cm), minimum plant-
spread (29.66cm) and minimum number of branches (5.33)
were recorded in the Control (non-pinching). These findings
are in accordance with Jay et al (1991), Girwani et al (1990),
Narayana Gowda and Jayanthi (1991), and Dutta and
Ramadas (1997) in chrysanthemum. This response may be
due to inhibition of GA synthesis and breakdown of apical
dominance, thereby resulting in auxin balance and enhanced

differentiation of branching caused by CCC, as proposed
by Ninnemann et al (1964). Early flowering (50.33 days)
was recorded in non-pinching (Control). Late flowering was
recorded with CCC 2000ppm and MH 1000ppm (66.66
days). These results are in congruence with Narayana
Gowda and Jayanthi (1991) and Parmar and Singh (1989)
in chrysanthemum. Delay in flowering may have been due
to inhibition of GA synthesis.

As for flowering and yield parameters, application of
CCC at 2000ppm recorded maximum flowering-duration
(25.33 days), number of flowers per plant (40), single-flower
weight (119.46g), flower yield per plant (408.10g), flower
yield per unit area (17.83t/ha) and seed yield per plant
(17.80g), whereas, minimum flowering-duration (21 days),
flower number per plant (17.0), flower weight (19.55g),
flower yield per plant (243.23g), flower yield per unit area
(10.03 t/ha) and seed yield (7.33g) were recorded in Control
(non-pinching). Maximum flower diameter (7.93cm) was
recorded with CCC at 2000ppm. Results of the present study
are in agreement with Leena et al (1992) in gladiolus, Dutta
and Ramadas (1997) and Takuldar and Paswan (1994) in
chrysanthemum, and, Syamal et al (1990) in marigold and
China aster. This may probably be due to suppression of
apical dominance, resulting in increased number of flowers

Table 1. Effect of pinching and growth retardants on growth and flowering in marigold
Treatment Plant Plant No. of Days to Flowering Number of Flower Single Flower Flower Seed Shelf-life

height spread branches first duration flowers diameter flower yield per yield per yield per of flower
(cm) (cm) per plant flowering per plant (cm) weight plant unit area plant (g) (days)

(g) (g) (t/ha)
T1-CCC 46.83 50.00 16.67 63.66 22.61 33.33 7.56 101.27 361.66 16.50 15.61 2.00
1000ppm
T2-CCC 48.00 50.66 17.00 64.33 24.33 34.33 7.60 104.60 376.10 16.96 16.86 3.00
1500ppm
T3-CCC 46.00 56.00 19.00 66.66 25.33 40.00 7.93 119.46 408.10 17.83 17.80 3.66
2000ppm
T4-MH 48.00 35.66 14.66 63.66 21.66 26.66 6.63 101.83 350.00 16.53 16.18 3.00
500ppm
T5-MH 48.00 44.00 15.66 66.66 22.66 27.33 7.00 107.23 341.03 14.53 16.86 3.33
1000ppm
T6-MH 49.00 47.33 17.66 60.00 23.33 30.33 7.46 101.73 345.70 15.03 17.03 2.66
1500ppm
T7-B-nine 48.00 37.33 10.66 61.66 22.00 31.33 7.10 94.87 385.46 16.56 17.73 3.00
500ppm
T8-B-nine 54.33 39.83 14.00 56.00 22.33 30.00 7.40 98.13 378.90 14.96 17.48 3.00
750ppm
T9-B-nine 56.33 44.66 16.33 62.00 22.66 28.33 7.60 104.73 382.43 15.16 16.78 3.00
1000ppm
T10-Pinching 52.33 34.00 9.33 60.00 23.00 24.00 6.20 93.90 388.30 13.13 13.01 2.33
T11-Non 67.00 29.66 5.33 50.33 21.00 17.00 6.23 90.55 243.23 10.03 7.33 2.33
Pinching
(Control)
CD (P=0.05) 16.15 6.02 2.96 4.22 2.99 5.31 0.42 10.68 38.91 1.98 0.76 0.75

J. Hortl. Sci.
Vol. 10(1):109-111, 2015

Sasikumar et al



111

per plant and, ultimately, increased flower yield per hectare.
Our results clearly showed that spray of growth retardants
enhanced flower yield compared to that in Control (non-
pinching). Maximum shelf life of flower was recorded in
CCC 2000 ppm (3.66 days) .Similar results were obtained
by Raju Dantuluri, (2000) who reported improved shelf life
of flowers in Asiatic hybrid Lily cv. Corrida with CCC
treatment. The minimum shelf life of flowers was recorded
in pinching and non pinching (2.33 days).

Thus, the present investigation revealed that
application of CCC at 2000ppm was superior among the
treatments tested for increasing flower yield in marigold.

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(MS Received 08 July 2014, Revised 25 May 2015, Accepted 29 May 2015)

J. Hortl. Sci.
Vol. 10(1):109-111, 2015

 Factors affecting growth and flowering in African marigold