Iftikhar Ahmad

Consolida ambigua, commonly known as larkspur, is a herbaceous flowering species which belongs to family Ranunculaceae. Due to its attractive, vibrant colors an

Research was conducted to assess the response of Helianthus annuus L. (sunflower) to various postharvest handling procedures for optimizing suitable protocols and ensuring the longest possible vase life. Experiments were conducted to optimize the harvest stage, harvest time, handling procedures, vase water quality, pulsing preservatives and vase preservatives.For harvest stage, partially opened flowers had the longest vase life (7.5 d), followed by stems harvested at closed bud stage (6.5 d). For harvest time, stems harvested in evening had longest vase life (7.6 d). For handling procedure, longest vase life (7.1 d) was recorded in wet-wet (continuously) hydrated throughout handling, succeeded by dry-wet handled stems (5.4 d). For water quality, 5% sucrose with distilled water had longest vase life (8.2 d). For storage methods and durations, stems that were not stored had the longest vase life, while the stems that were stored had the shorter vase life. For pulsing solutions, stems pulsed with Chrysal Clear Universal flower food had the longest vase life (11.6 d). In vase preservatives, Floralife flower food demonstrated the most prolonged vase longevity (12.8 d), closely succeeded by Chrysal Clear Universal flower food (12.6 d). In summary, for sunflower postharvest longevity, stems should be harvested in the evening at partially opened stage and should be placed in water immediately. Moreover, stems may be pulsed with 5% sucrose and for vase solutions, stems should be placed in Commercial preservatives, such as Floralife flower food or Chrysal Clear Universal flower food or homemade solutions, such as lemon/lime soda + distilled water (50:50) for longest vase life. Keywords: Commercial preservatives, electrolyte leakage, storage, sunflower, vase life.

Cock’s comb (Celosia cristata L.), marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) and zinnia (Zinnia elegans Jacq.) are popular ornamentals which are extensively cultivated as annual bedding adornments. A study was carried out during 2021-2023 on celosia, marigold and zinnia to scrutinize the effects of nitrogen fertilization. Greatest plant height for celosia (66.3 cm), orange marigold (90.5 cm), yellow marigold (72.8 cm) and zinnia (75.2 cm) was recorded when plants were fertilized with NPK combination @ 30:10:10 g m-2. The least production time was recorded in celosia (21 days), (23.7 days) in zinnia with treatment combination 30 g m-2 nitrogen application, whilst marigold cultivars exhibited the least production time (79 and 101 days) in orange and yellow marigold in control @0:10:10 g m-2, respectively. The highest seed yield per plant in orange marigold (6.1 g), yellow marigold (8.1 g) and zinnia (0.9 g) was measured @ 30:10:10 g m-2 NPK application. Celosia plants showed almost similar results regarding seed yield per plant and were statistically at par. Leaf nitrogen uptake in celosia (0.6%), orange marigold (0.5%), yellow marigold (1.3%) and zinnia (0.8%) and leaf phosphorus uptake celosia (1.9%), orange marigold (0.4%), yellow marigold (0.6%) and zinnia (0.4%) were recorded highest @ 30:10:10 g m-2. Leaf potassium uptake in celosia (1.9%) and yellow marigold (0.8%) was recorded as 30:10:10, and in orange marigold (0.9%), zinnia (1.7%). In summary, NPK combination @ 30:10:10 g m-2 proved best regarding vegetative, reproductive, and flower attributes, seed yield and biochemical plant attributes in tested annual flower species/cultivars in local subtropical agro-climatic conditions.

Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum L.), a member of family Gentianaceae, and stock (Matthiola incana L.), a member of family Brassicaceae, are extensively grown as cut flowers globally and are also gaining popularity in Pakistani markets in recent years. This study was aimed at evaluating the efficacy of selected biostimulants on improving the growth, yield, and quality of lisianthus and stock at Floriculture Research Area, Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, during 2022-2023. The experiment was laid out individually for each species to elucidate the effects of three different products, viz. Isabion (3 mL L^-1), Humic acid (0.4%) and Corteva XYZ (3 mL L^-1). Both experiments were laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications of 20 plants each. Biostimulants were applied at 3 mL L^-1 Isabion and Corteva XYZ, while 0.4% humic acid, which were sprayed three times at fifteen days interval until runoff on each species starting after fifteen days of transplanting. Results demonstrated significant differences among treatments for both Eustoma grandiflorum L. and Matthiola incana L. Lisianthus utilized least production time (59 days) when sprayed with Corteva XYZ, while in stock Isabion application produced earlier flowers (75.6 days) compared to other tested treatments. Isabion application significantly increased plant height (60.3 and 79.6 cm), floret diameter (39.8 and 4.2 mm), stem diameter (4.0 and 6.1 mm), stem fresh weight (77.6 and 86.1 g), stem dry weight (16.9 and 15.1 g) and vase life (8.8 and 7.5 days) of lisianthus and stock, respectively. Greatest leaf area (27.7 and 32.9 cm²) was recorded when plants were supplied with Corteva XYZ for lisianthus and stock, respectively. Greatest chlorophyll contents were recorded (75.3 SPAD) in lisianthus, while (81.6 SPAD) in stock, when sprayed with Isabion and humic acid, respectively. Isabion consistently yielded best results indicating its potential as an effective biostimulant for promoting growth, yield, and quality attributes, and may be used by the growers to enhance yield and quality of selected specialty cut species.

Floral foam, a phenol-formaldehyde base product, is gaining popularity as an essential component of modern floral designs. A study was conducted to scrutinise the effectiveness of vase preservatives with or without floral foam on postharvest longevity of celosia (Celosia argentea L. Cristata ‘Fire Chief’) and tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa ‘Single’). Results demonstrated significant differences among various tested vase solutions and floral foam. Celosia and tuberose kept without foam in vase solution containing Chrysal Clear Universal flower food depicted longest vase life (19.6 and 7.4 d), respectively. For celosia, the highest change in flower quality (8) was recorded in stems placed in 1% sucrose + 100 mg L-1 salicylic acid without foam, followed by stems kept in a vase solution of 1% sucrose + 150 mg L-1 citric acid with foam. Meanwhile, tuberose stems kept in Chrysal Clear Universal flower food solution exhibited the highest change in flower quality, followed by 1% sucrose + 4 mL L-1 lemon juice without foam. The highest bent neck percentage (100%) was recorded in stems kept in a solution of 1% sucrose + 100 mg L-1 salicylic acid and Chrysal Clear Universal flower food with or without foam, respectively. Chrysal Clear Universal flower food-treated stems without foam absorbed more water (275 and 285 mL), respectively. When kept without foam in vase solution. In summary, the overall impact of floral foam was not good in maintaining the quality of cut stems of celosia and tuberose; meanwhile, stems can be kept fresh for longer durations in distilled water for celosia and Chrysal Clear Universal flower food for tuberose without foam.

EVALUATING GENETIC DIVERSITY IN PAKISTANI TURMERIC SELECTIONS THROUGH ANALYSIS OF CURCUMIN CONTENT, VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS, AND RHIZOME YIELD TRAITS IN FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN Turmeric (Curcuma longa), a member of the Zingiberaceae family, is a spice plant that has long been recognized for its medicinal properties. There is high genetic variation exists within the species of Curcuma longa, even though it is clonally propagated. The overall genetic diversity in Curcuma longa may be due to its population distribution in areas of diverse ecological conditions in Pakistan. Present study was performed to evaluate different turmeric selections, which were collected from five different locations viz., S1 from Institute of Horticultural Sciences (IHS), University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), Pakistan, S2 and S3 from Faisalabad (Jaranwala and Kanjwani, respectively) and S4 and S5 from Kasur (Tirath and Hussain Khan Wala, respectively), Punjab, Pakistan. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design and each treatment was replicated thrice. Among the selections, selection S5 (Hussain Khan Wala) performed best for growth and yield traits, i.e. plant height (79.6 cm), number of tillers per plant (3.4), number of leaves per plant (17.7), leaf length (37.7 cm), leaf width (12.3 cm), stem diameter (16.1 mm), number of primary rhizomes per plant (6.3), number of secondary rhizomes per plant (11.1), total number of rhizomes per plant (18.4), weight of primary rhizomes (95.3 g per plant), weight of secondary rhizomes (94.3 g per plant), yield (213.1 g per plant), rhizome length (52.7 mm) and rhizome diameter (22.8 mm). However, curcumin content (0.79%), total dry matter (45.8%), moisture content (58.1%) and total soluble solids (12.0 oBrix) were highest in selections S2 (Jaranwala), S4 (Tirath), S1 (IHS, UAF) and S2 (Jaranwala), respectively. Therefore, it is recommended that turmeric selection S5 (Hussain Khan Wala) may be cultivated for higher yield, while S2 selection (Jaranwala) is for highest curcumin production.

Carrot (Daucus carota L.) seed quality is affected by umbel position due to uneven maturation of carrot seeds produced in different umbel orders. However, keeping this in view, we tested whether seed quality could be improved with the suppression of tertiary umbels under exogenous auxin application. Using auxin-producing bacterial isolates, i.e., Bacillus sp. MN54, Enterobacter sp. MN17, Pantoea sp. MN34, and Burkholderia phytofirmans PsJN, the arrangements of carrot umbel order were evaluated in terms of quality carrot seed production. The results revealed that auxin production by plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria showed significant differences among measured growth indices, yield, and seed quality attributes. The selected endophytic strains co-applied with auxin via foliar application improved all growth- and yield-related traits, as well as the enzymatic activities of carrots. Noticeably, MN17+L-tryptophan and MN34+L-tryptophan effectively minimized the number of tertiary umbels by increasing the number of secondary umbels. Furthermore, treating with PsJN+L-tryptophan and MN34+L-tryptophan resulted in reduced conductivity of seed leachates and malondialdehyde levels in primary, secondary, and tertiary umbel seeds. These findings collectively indicate the potential of the foliar application of PsJN+L-tryptophan and MN34+L-tryptophan to effectively alter umbel arrangement, leading to improved yield and seed quality. This study implies that carrot seed producers can consider employing specific PGPB strains, particularly MN34+L-tryptophan, to suppress tertiary umbels and achieve higher yields of high-quality carrot seeds.

Indigenous Soilless Substrate Compositions Affect Growth, Yield and Quality of Cut Antirrhinum majus