Effect of Pre-Harvest Application of GA 3 and PP 333 as Bulb Dip and Foliar Spray on Quality and Vase Life of Cut Tulip cv. Cassini

An experiment on effect of pre-harvest application of GA 3 and PP 333 as bulb dip and foliar spray on quality and vase life of cut tulip cv. Cassini was carried out. Healthy scapes of uniform size were cut in a slanting manner at bud colour break stage and placed in conical flasks containing distilled water for vase life studies. Bulb dip in GA 3 (100 ppm) followed by foliar spray of GA 3 (100 ppm) significantly improved overall water uptake, prevented water loss and resulted in maximum water balance. The treatment also exhibited the maximum flower diameter (7.40 cm), scape length (16.26 cm) and vase life (9.33 days). However, the lowest water loss to water uptake ratio was recorded with bulb dip plus foliar spray with 200 ppm GA 3 . Data indicated that GA 3 (100 ppm) as bulb dip plus foliar spray proved instrumental in maintaining the quality and vase life of cut tulip as compared to other treatments.