PHENOTYPIC SCREENING OF LISIANTHUS (Eustoma grandiflorum) LINES FOR PRODUCTION IN BANGLADESH

Abstract

An experiment was accomplished in the Horticulture farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University during the period of April to October, 2016 to screen some lisianthus lines for production in Bangladesh. Fifteen lisianthus lines viz. L II 1 = Nandini Moonlight, L = Nandini Suvro, L 3 = Nandini Chandra, L 4 = Nandini Pink light, L = Nandini Lemon Double, L 6 = Nandini Lemon Single, L 7 = Nandini Pink Cup, L 8 5 = Nandini Rose, L = Nandini Royal Violet, L 10 = Nandini Violet Single, L 11 = Nandini Blue Vase, L = Nandini Ocean violet, L 13 = Nandini Purple bell, L 14 = Nandini Purple picotee and L = Nandini Lavender was used in this experiment arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Data on different growth and flowering parameters were taken to which all the lines showed significant variations. The flower color being the primary characteristics was given importance and their accurate determination was done using the Cartesian co-ordinates in CIELab color space. Based on the performances, the lines were ranked and L was found to be the highest ranking although all the lines performed well as standard cut flowers which were classified into different groups based on their flower characteristics, behavior and their vase life. These findings may be a source of valuable information for further development of this promising cut flower in Bangladesh.