Effect of Phosphorus and Planting Distance on Corm Production of Saffron (Crocus sativus)
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Abstract
The influence of phosphorus and planting distance on corm production of Crocus sativus was studied at the Ornamental Horticulture Farm of Department of Horticulture, Kabul University during 2019-2020. Four different phosphorus (P) doses i.e. 0, 20, 40 and 60 kg ha-1 were applied to five different densities viz. 242, 107, 54, 30 and 20 plants m-2. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with split plot arrangement. P effect was largely non-significant, whereas planting densities had considerable effects. The increase in corm number m-2 with increase in plant density means that more corms were planted per unit area. Hence more production in terms of corm number was obtained from the densely planted areas. However, as we know crocus is a perennial crop and the corms are left in soil to grow for several years. Maximum days to sprouting (29.8), number of cormels m-2 (441.7), number of corm m-2 (371.1) were produced by 242 plants m-2, while minimum in these were recorded at 20 plants m-2 density. Number of cormels (2.5), cormel weight (1.6 g), number of corms (2.0), corm weight (11.1 g), corm volume (10.7 ml) and corm diameter (3.1 cm) were produced by plants at 20 m-2 densities, while minimum values for the above parameters were noted in 242 plants m-2. The interaction of phosphorus doses and planting distance was significant for some parameters. A comparison of means values for plant densities revealed that maximum corm volume (10.7 ml) was produced by plants at the lowest density (20 plants m-2), while it was minimum (8.8 ml) at the highest density (242 plants m-2).
Keywords
Ancient corm, Density, Diameter, Spices, Sprouting##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.details##
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