The Effect of Planting Methods and Calcium Nanoparticles Spray on Quality, Quantity and Vase Life of Gladiolus hybrida cv. Magma

In order to introduce the best method of planting between Cretan and furrow and also spraying nanoparticles of calcium on the quality and quantity of Gladiolus flowers (Gladiolus hybrida cv. Magma), a study was conducted at the research farm. Nanoparticles release nutrients slowly and continuously because of having nanomembranes so that we can adjust the speed of releasing nutrients from the capsuls. Using this fact, the efficiency of nanoparticles would improve. Cretan method is the most common method of planting of Gladiolus in Iran. Materials and Methods: Corms were planted in two ways; Cretan and furrow planting. The density of them was 24 per square meter (four rows with the distance of 15 cm). Nanoparticles of calcium at three levels (0, 1 mg/litre, and 2 mg/litre) were sprayed on the plants before the harvest once a week for three weeks. Considering the importance of planting methods and performance of nanoparticles of calcium, a factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with three replications. Data were analyzed using SAS software. In this study after the harvesting, most of the features of flowers were measured including: the inflorescence length, the inflorescence weight, the weight index of cut flower (fresh weight of the cut flower/ the length of the cut flower), the shoot diameter, the shoot length, the diameter of the first and the second floret, the number of florets, the number of corm, the corm weight, a, b, and the total chlorophyll, the relative water content, and the vase life. Significant differences were observed at the 5% level for all of the traits except the weight index of the cut flower and the relative water content. The cut flower weight, the cut flower length, the inflorescence length, the florets diameter, the number of florets, the number of corm, and the vase life were increased in the furrow planting method. The importance of the nanoparticles of calcium treatments on vase life was significant. The Number of corms was also significant in the furrow planting method. The results of this study showed that the quality, the yield and the vase life in furrow planting were better than those in the Cretan. The foliar feeding calcium nanoparticles resulted in survival improvement in post-harvest flowers. In Khuzestan, which is capable of producing commercial Gladiolus flowers in autumn and winter, the furrow planting can be used to obtain flowers with higher quality and quantity instead of using the cretan planting.