Standardization of pruning season and application of growth substance for yield maximization of nerium (N. oleander l.) cv pink single

A field experiment was carried out to standardize pruning season (January 2019 and September 2020) and growth substance for quality yield in Nerium (Nerium oleander L.) pink single cultivar. There were five treatments viz., GA3 @ 150ppm, CCC @ 800ppm, MH @ 750 ppm, Ethrel @ 2000 ppm Alar 1500 ppm, and water spray as control along with three-year-old plants were pruned, season 1 - January and season 2 - September has done with 90cm height, laid out in RBD with three replication. The season of January pruning and GA3 @ 150 ppm (T1) foliar application registered significantly highest plant height (173.5 cm), number of primary branches per plant (42.20 ), number of leaves per plant (1233.2), leaf area (32.74 cm2 ), leaf area index (1.93 cm), fresh weight of plants (2975.5 g plant-1) and dry matter production (434.1 g plant-1). The highest yield attributes of flowers per plant (1672.8), flower diameter (4.83 cm), single flower weight (0.49 g), duration of flowering (223.22 days), flower yield per plant (0.82 kg), flower yield per plot (7.19 kg) and flower yield ha-1 (7.98 tonnes) were recorded in the treatment of January pruning along with an application of A3 @ 150 ppm (T1). It was followed by September pruning and CCC @ 800 ppm (T7). The result revealed that the season of pruning in January with the growth substance of GA3 application increased the growth and yield of Nerium (Nerium oleander L.) pink single cultivar.