Vol. 11, Issue 1 (2022)

Author(s):
Ediga Amala, KP Singh, Sapna Panwar, Namita, Neelu Jain, Sudhir Kumar, Vinutha T and Pavnesh Kumar Verma

Abstract:
The objective of this study was to see the effect of cold on the growth, flowering and physiological responses in different African marigolds to find out the cold tolerant genotypes so that they can be further used in crop improvement programme. During winter season, ten genotypes of African marigold were grown in pots in two different growing environments: open and polyhouse conditions, from November to February. The results revealed that marigold genotypes showed a severe drop in growth and yield parameters, decline in the relative water content (RWC) and photosynthetic rate due to cold stress conditions in open as compared to polyhouse conditions. The genotypes Af./W-4 was recorded with highest plant height, leaf area, maximum RWC, photosynthetic and transpiration rate and with less electrolyte leakage rate among all other African marigold genotypes. Therefore, genotypes Af./W-4 followed by Pusa Bahar are deemed the most tolerant under cold stress conditions based on the assay of several morpho-physiological parameters.