Research article ENHANCING THE VASE LIFE OF TULIP (TULIPA GESNERIANA L.) USING VARIOUS PULSING SOLUTIONS OF HUMIC ACID AND NPK

The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effect of various humic acid concentrations and NPK levels for vase life response of Tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L.) cv. Triumph. The data was statistically analysed by using complete randomized design (CRD) in three replications and observations were recorded at two intervals (I st at: 5 days, 2 nd at: 10 days). Three concentrations of humic acid (25, 50, and 75 ml/l) along with NPK dose was applied which were compared with control. The statistical results revealed that all measured traits increased with increase in humic acid concentration and treatment combination of humic acid (HA) and NPK produced a significant difference in post harvest attributes than a single application. The highest values for quality parameters like scape length (30.95 cm and 34.12 cm), tepal diameter (10.34 mm and 11.89 mm), water uptake (66.95cm 3 and 62.87cm 3 ), fresh weight (33.21g and 38.32g) and minimum stem curvature percentage (17.23% and 19%) were observed in T5 (75 ml/l humic acid + 10 g/l NPK) as compared to control (T0=distilled water) at two intervals. Concerning the influence of humic acid and NPK for vase life, T5 also had a superior effect on days for vase life (18.70 days) as compared to other treatments.