Growth and Flowering of Two Tuberose ( Polianthes tuberosa L.) Cultivars under Deficit Irrigation by Saline Water

Abstract

Tuberose ( Polianthes tuberosa L.) is one of the most important bulbous ornamenta l crops of tropical and subtropical areas. The object ive of the present study was to determine the interaction effects of salinity and i rrigation intervals on growth and flowering of two important commercial cultivars (‘M ahallati’ and ‘Dezfuli’) of tuberose ( Polianthes tuberosa L.). Irrigation treatments consisted of four irrig ation intervals 2, 4, 6, and 8 days, and salinity treatments in the irrigati on water were EC values of 0.7 (control), 1.9, 3.1, and 4.3 dS m -1 . This research was carried out in a complete rando mized design with factorial arrangement. It can be concluded tha t tuberose is sensitive to water and salinity stress. In both cultivars of tuberose, veg etative and reproductive parameters were unfavorably affected by these stresses. However, ‘M ahallati’ was more sensitive to those stresses than ‘Dezfuli’. Further investigations are needed to clarify in depth the mechanism of tuberose sensitivity to the studied en vironmental stresses at both molecular and ultra-structural levels. Keywords : Abiotic stress, Bulbous plant, Cut flower, Water management.