The Journal of Research ANGRAU

Research Notes
J.Res. ANGRAU 41(1) 93-95, 2013
EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE OF DENDROBIUM ORCHID HYBRIDS
B. GOPALA RAO, P.T.SRINIVAS and M.H.NAIK
Department of Horticulture, Sri Venkateswara Agricultural College,
Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University , Tirupati- 517 502
Date of Receipt : 26.07.2012 Date of Acceptance : 24.09.2012
Dendrobium is one of the largest diverse
genera of orchids, very popular among orchids
throughout the world. In India, majority of commercial
orchid farms are located in Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
Karnataka and Agency areas of Andhra Pradesh.
Dendrobium hybrids viz., Sonia-17, Emma White,
New Wanee, Pampodour Blue Magic and Flame are
bearing population in India. Increasing demand with
insufficient supply of orchid flowers in international
trade offer scope for making India a major exporter,
having maximum genetic resources, varied climatic
zones, availability of trained man power, lower cost
of production as compared to other orchid growing
countries. Very few studies are reported on the
screening of orchids. However, the present
investigation was carried out to evaluate Dendrobium
hybrids viz., Sonia-17, Emma White, New Wanee,
Pampodour, Blue Magic and Flame for export
purpose.
The study was conducted in the orchid farm
Natural Synergies Limited, Nathanallur village,
Kancheepuram district situated between 12 0 52’ N
latitude and 79 0 51’ E longitude at an altitude of 102
m MSL. Six hybrids of Sonia-17, Emma White, New
Wanee, Pampodour, Blue Magic and Flame were
screened for their performance grown under 75 per
cent shade net. Growth parameters studied were plant
height, number of shoots per plant, number of leaves
per plant, number of spikes per plant, length of spike,
number of florets per spike, length of floret pedicel,
and longevity of spikes on plant and in the vase.
Observations on vegetative growth parameters were
recorded at 60, 120 and 180 days and floral characters
at 130 and 195 days after planting. The experiment
was laid out in Completely Randomized Block Design
(CRD) with 4 replications and 6 treatments.
Among the hybrids studied ‘Blue Magic’
produced maximum plant height (56.61 cm) and
hybrid ‘Emma White’ produced minimum plant height
(41.54 cm), while others showed intermediate heights.
The hybrid ‘Flame’ had produced maximum number
of leaves per plant (12.87) and hybrid ‘New Wanee’
recorded minimum number of leaves (6.44) per plant
(Table 1). The hybrid ‘Flame’ showed distinguishable
difference in the spike number, length of spike, and
number of florets per spike from others (Table 2).
The number of spikes recorded was maximum in the
hybrid ‘Flame’ (3.68). The results showed that
increased number of spikes had positive and
significant relation with the leaves and shoots. The
hybrid ‘Flame’ excelled other hybrids with a spike
length of 57.96 cm, while hybrid ‘Pompadour’ recorded
spike length of 48.39 cm followed by ‘Blue Magic’
(40.51 cm) and ‘New Wanee’ (37.86 cm), whereas
‘Emma White’ and ‘Sonia 17’ recorded minimum spike
length of 32.49 and 33.16 cm (Fig. 1A). Maximum
number of florets per spike (15.58) was recorded in
‘Flame’, which might be due to production of longest
spikes. Whereas minimum number of florets per spike
was recorded in ‘New Wanee’ (7.55) and ‘Sonia 17’
(7.60), maximum floret pedicel length was recorded
in ‘Emma White’ and ‘Blue Magic’. The vase life study
of different hybrids revealed that the cultivars ‘Sonia
17’ (18.38 days) and ‘Flame’ (17.96 days) recorded
longer vase life, whereas shorter vase life was
observed in ‘Pampodour’ (6.45 days) in tap water
(Table 2)(Fig. 1B). The variation observed among
different hybrids in respect of different above
parameters may be attributed to genetic differences
in the hybrids studied. The above findings of the
present investigation are in agreement with those of
Betonio (1966) and Chandrappa (2003).
Based on the above results, it appeared that
Flame’s performance is better than others, though
its vase life is comparatively less but almost equal
to that of Sonia 17. Hence it is recommended to grow
‘Flame’ for commercial and export purposes.
email: gopal_hort@yahoo.co.in
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