Effect of Foliar Application of NAA and Microelements on Vigour and Flowering of Marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) cv. Pusa Basanti

Results of the field experiment revealed that vigour of marigold plant was significantly increased due to foliar application of NAA and microelements. The production and size of floral heads were also improved significantly by the NAA and microelement treatments. The spray of 100 ppm NAA at 15 days after transplanting and 0.50% ZnSO4 at 30 days after transplanting proved significantly effective for yield and floriferousness of marigold cv Pusa Basanti. Minimum plant height was observed in control while the maximum height was recorded by NAA100ppm.Values were in between with the borax treatment. Parameters viz., diameter of main stem, spread of plant along the row, spread of plant across the row, number of primary branches/plant, length of the longest primary branch, number of secondary branches on the highest primary branch, number of leaves on highest primary branch and fresh weight of plant canopy were found to be influenced significantly with treatments and followed same pattern as in case of plant height. It seems that auxins have great potential to determine plant orientation, flower bud differentiation and economic production.