This is an open access article d istributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommer cial-ShareAl ike 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, d istribution, and reproduction in any med ium, provide d the original author and source are credited. Short Communication Chrysanthemum belongs to the family Asteraceae, native of Asia and Europe (Asha et al., 2016), is commercially cultivated in for the exquisite flowers. It is a leading flower in the global market and commonly grown for cut flower, loose flower, pot plant and garden decoration throughout the world. In India, is being commercially grown in 31.40 thousand hectare area with 482.54 thousand metric tons loose flower and 28.73 thousand metric tons of cut flower production (Anon., 2022). Chrysanthemum flowers have high potential and price because of its variable flower shape, size, forms and distinctiveness for flower hues and shades (Kaushal and Bala, 2019). There is demand for superior varieties over the existing ones, thus, ther e is need to evaluate a nd categor ize chr ysa nthemum var ieties on the basis of their commercial significance (Bala, 2015). The objective of this study was to evaluate diverse standard varieties of chrysanthemum having potential for pot culture, exhibition, a nd cut flower with commer cia l significance. The experiment was conducted with ten standard varieties of chrysanthemum i.e., Snow Ball, Pusa Centenary, Sonar Bangla, Thai Chen Queen, Purnima, Kikobiory, Swan Dance, Otam Blaze, Valliant, Denise Oatridge, in 8 inch pots, replicated thrice in completely randomized block design (CRD) at Research Farm, Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, during 2018-19. Substrate media of soil : leaf mold : sand (2:1:1) was used for pot filling. Disbudding was done in September and October to maintain a healthy terminal flower on the single stem. The observations on various growth and flowering parameters such as plant height at bud appearance and at anthesis, number of leaves per plant, days to bud initiation, days to flower opening stage, maturity group (early, medium, late), flower diameter, duration of flowering, flower colour, vase life, flower form and commercial use were recorded. Data were subjected to statistical analysis by using CPCS-1 software and comparisons were made at 5% level of significance. All the varieties differed significantly with each other with regard to various vegetative and floral parameters (Ta ble 1). T he ma ximum pla nt height a t bud appearance (71.82 cm) and anthesis (77.23 cm) was recorded in variety Snow Ball which was significantly higher than at bud appearance (68.30 cm) and at anthesis (73.47 cm) in Kikobiory, however, the minimum plant height (44.08 cm) at bud appearance and at anthesis (48.10 cm) was observed in Purnima. The height of plants should be proportionate i.e., J. Hortic. Sci. Vol. 18(1) : 240-243, 2023 https://doi.org/10.24154/jhs.v18i1.2171 Morphological characterization of standard chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) Abhishek K. and Bala M.* Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana - 141004, Punjab, India *Corresponding author Email : madhu-flori@pau.edu ABSTRACT Ten diverse chrysanthemum varieties were evaluated for their suitability as cut flower, flower arrangement and pot plant. The maximum plant height at bud appearance (71.82 cm) and at anthesis (77.23 cm) was recorded in Snow Ball, while, it was recorded minimum at bud appearance (44.08 cm) and flower opening stage (48.10 cm) in Purnima. The longest duration of flowering (33.73 days) was recorded in Thai Chen Queen, whereas, the least flowering duration (23.63 days) was recorded in Swan Dance. The variety Pusa Centenary exhibited the longest vase life (22.00 days), however, the least vase life (16.00 days) was recorded in Valliant. Depending upon the compactness, medium size and vase life, Thai Chen Queen, Purnima, Pusa Centenary, Otam Blaze and Denise Oatridge were found suitable for pot culture, cut flower and flower arrangements, whereas, the varieties with big flower such as Snow Ball, Kikobiory, Sonar Bangla, Valliant and Swan Dance were identified for pot culture and exhibition purpose. Keywords : Chrysanthemum, evaluation, floral characters, vase life 241 J. Hortic. Sci. Vol. 18(1) : 240-243, 2023 Morphological characterization of standard chrysanthemum 2-2.5 times to the size of pot for its effective display. The seasonal variation pertaining to environmental conditions such as light and temperature also affect the plant architecture (Suvija et al., 2016). The variation in plant height could be due to genetic and environmental factors (Baskaran et al., 2010). The highest number of leaves per plant (18.50) was recorded in the variety Pusa Centenary, whereas, the lowest leaf count per plant (10.80) was observed in Kikobiory. The diverse genetic makeup of different genotypes along with variable response to prevailing environmental conditions likely resulted in variation in leaf number (Suvija et al., 2016). The number of days to bud appearance and flower opening differed significantly among the varieties (Fig. 1). The variety Swan Dance (71.30 days) recorded early bud initiation and it was statistically at par with Kikobiory (72.20 days). The variety Pusa Centenary registered the highest number of days to bud initiation (84.03 days) and was found statistically at par with Sonar Bangla (83.33 days) to initiate the flower buds. The days to bud initiation to first flower bud appearance is an important parameter reflecting earliness as well as late flowering habit of a variety, and holds a significance pertaining to the availability of flowers in the market (Behera et al., 2002). The highest number of days to flower opening (104.87 days) was observed in the variety Sonar Bangla. The variety Swan Dance bloomed earliest (94.87 days) to anthesis, which was statistically at par with Snowball and Kikobiory. The cultivar which bloom early likely to reach or capture the market relatively earlier and could be a decisive factor for the farmer to cultivate Plant height (cm) Number Flower Duration Floret colour code Variety at bud at of leaves/ diameter of floweri- (RHS colour appearance anthesis plant (cm) ng (days) chart) Denise Oatridge 61.27 65.07 13.65 14.33 32.97 Purple Violet group (N 80 D) Kikobiory 68.30 73.47 10.80 15.82 26.87 Yellow group (6 A) Otam Blaze 57.59 60.73 13.20 14.50 26.70 Orange Red group (31 A) Purnima 44.08 48.10 11.37 13.30 30.60 White group (15 N) Pusa Centenary 61.33 65.80 18.50 14.41 29.57 Yellow group (6 C) Snow Ball 71.82 77.23 13.37 17.69 31.07 White group (155 A) Sonar Bangla 58.84 62.70 13.03 16.85 25.17 Yellow White group (158 C) Swan Dance 66.94 70.80 14.87 19.50 23.63 White group (155 B) Thai Chen Queen 54.10 58.70 14.67 15.80 33.73 Yellow Orange group (22 C) Valliant 60.13 64.27 13.07 16.73 27.90 Red Purple group (62 D) SEm± 0.47 0.23 0.32 - - - LSD (0.05) 1.40 0.68 0.94 0.77 1.24 - Table 1 : Evaluation of chrysanthemum varieties for vegetative and floral characters Fig. 1 : Days to bud apperance and flower opening stage 242 Abhishek and Bala colourful varieties taking into consideration their varying response groups and their optimum stage for marketing (Laxmi et al., 2008). The flower diameter is an important floral parameter that determines the likely weight of a flower which can be used as loose flower or for exhibition purpose. The large sized chrysanthemum inflorescence is desired for exhibition purpose and sometimes raised by the growers owing to consumer demand (Kireeti et al., 2017). The maximum diameter of flower was observed in Swan Dance (19.50 cm) followed by ‘Snow Ball’ (17. 69 cm), while, minimum flower dia meter (13.30 cm) was observed in Purnima. Simila r variations in diameter of flower have been reported by Kumar and Polara (2017). Considerable variations were recorded for the duration of flowering in different chrysanthemum varieties (Table 1). The variety Thai Chen Queen exhibited longest flowering duration (33.73 days), whereas, the shortest duration (23.63 days) was recorded in Swan Dance. These variations in flower diameter are requisite for the commercial flower market which provides an opportunity to select the varieties with profuse flowering with long blooming period. Similar variation in flowering among chrysanthemum varieties have also been reported (Srilatha et al., 2015). Flower colour of different varieties was observed and the colour codes were designated as per the standard Royal Horticultural Society Colour Charts (RHSCC), London. Variations in flower colour were observed among the ten varieties and are categorized into white, yellow, yellow white, orange red, red purple and purple violet group. The variation in flower colour among chrysanthemum varieties may also be due to the distinct genetic makeup and different proportion of pigments present in a particular genotype. The longest vase life (22 days) was observed in ‘Pusa Centenary’ and the shortest vase life (16.00 days) was observed in variety Valliant (Fig. 2). The variation in vase life may be due to genetic makeup of cultivars (Singh et al., 2017). The varietal differentiation according to the maturity group is important for consumer preference. The variation among maturity and flowering duration is determining factors, especially for pot cultivation of chrysanthemum. The observations revealed that all the ten varieties assessed matured between 8 to 12 weeks, thus have been categorized under the medium maturity group (Table 2). Wide range of variation with respect to flower form viz., regular incurve, decorative, irregular incurve and spider etc. was observed. The trait such as flower shape and flower form is totally accredited to the genetic factor (Behera et al., 2002). All the evaluated varieties can be used for pot culture and exhibition purposes depending upon consumer preferences. Table 2 : Characterization of chrysanthemum varieties for different maturity groups and commercial utilization Flowering Maturity Flower Pot culture/Variety season group form Exhibition Cut flower Denise Oatridge November- Medium Irregular December Incurve Kikobiory November Medium Regular incurve × Otam Blaze November Medium Decorative Purnima November Medium Decorative Pusa Centenary November Medium Decorative Snow Ball November Medium Regular incurve × Sonar Bangla November Medium Regular incurve × Swan Dance October- Early to medium Spider × November Thai Chen Queen November Medium Decorative Valliant November Medium Spider × J. Hortic. Sci. Vol. 18(1) : 240-243, 2023 243 Therefore, the varieties Thai Chen Queen, Purnima, Pusa Centenary, Otam Blaze and Denise Oatridge with medium sized flowers and better keeping quality were found to be most suitable for pot culture, cut flower and flower arrangement, whereas, the varieties Snow Ball, Kikobiory, Sonar Bangla, Valliant and Swan Dance with bigger sized flowers were found suitable for pot culture and exhibition purpose. REFERENCES Anonymous. 2022. Area and production of floriculture in India. https://www.indiastat.com. Asha , K. M. Sa ne, A. a nd Kuma r, R. 2016. Cha r a cter iza tion of chr ysa nthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora) genotypes as per DUS guidelines. Indian J. Agric. Sci., 86: 103- 112. Bala, M. 2015. Eva lua tion of chr ysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ra ma t. ) genotypes for morphological traits J. Hortic. Sci., 10: 242-244. Baskaran, V., Jayanthi R., Janakiram, T. and Abiramil, K. 2010. Evaluation of post harvest quality of some varieties of chrysanthemum. J. Hortic. Sci., 5: 81-83. Behera, T. K., Sirohi, P. S. a nd Pal, A. 2002. Assessment of chrysanthemum germplasm for commercial cultivation under Delhi condition. J. Ornam. Hortic., 5: 11-14. Kaushal, S. and Bala, M. 2019. Morphological variability of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum Ramat.) genotypes for pot culture., Agric. Res. J., 56: 206-212. Kireeti, A., Ravindrababu, Om Prasad, M. J., and Ra ma devi, P. 2017. Eva lua tion of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora Tzvelev) varieties in humid coastal zone of Andhra Pradesh. Int. J. Chem. Stud., 5: 370- 372. Kumar, A. S. and Polara, N. D. 2017. Evaluation of chrysanthemum varieties on growth and quality under south Saurastra region. Int. J. Pure App. Biosci., 5(4): 1989. Laxmi, P. , Pra ta p, M. a nd Reddy, S.A. 2008. Evaluation of yellow coloured chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora L.) varieties for growth, flowering and yield. Orissa J. Hortic., 36(1): 116-119. Singh, D. D., Tyagi, S., Singh, S and Kumar, P. 2017. Studies on the per for ma nce a nd flower cha r a cter iza tion of chr ysa nthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora L.) genotypes under Uttar Pradesh conditions. Adv. Res., 9: 1-7. Srilatha, V., Kumar, K. S. and Kiran, Y. D. 2015. Evaluation of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora Tzvelev) varieties in southern zone of Andhra Pradesh. Agri. Sci. Dig., 35:155-157. Suvija, N. V., Suresh, J., Kumar, S. R. and Kannan, M. 2016. Evalua tion of Chr ysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat) genotypes for loose flower, cut Flower and pot mums. Int. J. Innov. Res. Adv. Std., 3:101-104. Fig. 2 : Vase life (days) of standard chrysanthemum (Received : 05.03.2021; Revised : 01.02.2023; Accepted 03.02.2023) J. Hortic. Sci. Vol. 18(1) : 240-243, 2023 Morphological characterization of standard chrysanthemum