Extricating the Impacts of Tactics of Nitrogen Source on the Growth & Development of Lilium Cultivars

Lilium is one of the most important cut flower and ranks second among bulbous flowers in international market. The scope of the study lies in the fact that despite having the congenial climate of Kashmir for bulb production, the cultivators are importing the bulbs from abroad, so there was need to rationalize the nutrition for optimum plant growth and bulb yield of lilies under Kashmir valley conditions. Consequently, an investigation was undertaken to evaluate the differential response of Asiatic lilies cultivars to different methods of application and nitrogen sources (urea and calcium nitrate) in terms of plant growth, bulb development and yield. Significant differences were observed in growth parameters and behaviour of two cultivars viz., Serreda and Navona. Calcium nitrate significantly improved plant height, leaf area (LA) and LA index (LAI) recorded at 50, 75, 90, and 105 days after planting (DAP). Bulb yield parameters (weight of mother bulb, weight of bulblets, number of bulbs plant-1, propagation coefficient) varied significantly between the two cultivars. Calcium nitrate significantly improved bulb weight, bulb circumference, the number of bulbs plant−1 and propagation coefficient. However, the effect of three and four split nitrogen application on plant height, LA and LAI was significant at 90-105 day interval. Ca(NO3)2 was more effective in ensuring the prompt availability of nitrogen to plants as compared to urea (NH2CONH2); also it was advantageous for improving the bulb growth because of presence of critically important micronutrient i.e. calcium. Split application of nitrogen was advantageous not only in improving the growth and yield attributes but also in preventing the significant losses of nitrogen caused by various processes such as leaching.