Salinity tolerance in Chrysanthemum morifolium

Abstract: The scarcity of fertile land for growing ornamental crops has received attention on the utilization of salt affected soils for floriculture. Two cultivars of Chrysanthemum morifolium viz. 'Flirt' and 'Jayanti' were evaluated under three salinity levels (EC 4, 6 and 8 dS/m) of irrigation water along with control (irrigating with non-saline water). The experiment consisting of eight treatments with three replications was conducted in earthen pots with randomized block design. The pots were filled with sandy loam soil and 20 days old rooted cuttings were planted @ three cuttings per pot. The growth parameters viz., plant height, number of buds and flowers per plant; fresh and dry weight as well as chlorophyll content increased significantly with increasing salinity levels. 'Jayanti' appeared to be more salt tolerant in comparison to 'Flirt' in their floral morphology as well as in productivity. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were reduced in plants as salinity increased. There was a relatively high N concentration in 'Flirt' cultivar. The concentration of other nutrients such as potassium, calcium and magnesium increased significantly with increasing salinity levels. This increase in nutritional uptake did not show any detrimental effect of Na toxicity in the salinized plants. As a result, nutrient use efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus was enhanced with increasing salinity levels. Growth and flower yield both indicated that C. morifolium which is a plant of halophytic origin can be raised successfully as an ornamental cash crop in moderate saline environment, particularly 'Jayanti' cultivar. However, its critical limit to higher salinity tolerance is yet to be worked out.