Growth, Flowering, and Durability of Gladiolus Affected by Foliar Application of Calcium from Different Sources and at Different Doses

Gladiolus is one of the most important cut flowers in the world, especially in Iran. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of spraying different calcium doses and sources on quality and quantity of Gladiolus grandiflorus cv. Rose Supreme. The experiment was conducted in a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. The calcium concentrations were 0, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2 and 1.5 g L-1 and its sources were CaCl2 and CaNo3 with three replications, during two years in 2017-2019. The data revealed that foliar application of calcium doses had significant effects on most quality and quantity growth parameters. Increase calcium doses stimulated flower stalk height, flowering stem diameter, spike length, inflorescence fresh and dry weight, inflorescence bending, vase life, and leaf calcium concentration. Calcium at a dose of 1.2 g L-1 increased flower stem bending and diameter resulted in expanded vase life by 26.5 and 36.7 %, respectively compared to control. Therefore, pre-harvest foliar application of calcium nitrate at 1.2 g L-1 level increased leaf calcium concentration and stems bending that led to the delay of senescence and therefore increased flower longevity. In this experiment, we had not any limitations and everything was well done. Use of calcium fertilizers improved the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of gladiolus flowers.