Effect of Planting Time on Vegetative Characters of Different Varieties of Oriental Lily

The evaluation of varieties for a particular region is an important process in order to screen the potential cultivars for any specific region or climate. Although the varieties may express a unique behaviour under certain area, but it may fail or sustain that peculiar character when grown under different location. Along with varieties, planting time significantly affect the crop production. Therefore, standardization of planting time is very important to get a good growth and excellent quality of cut flowers. By using staggered planting, the flowering period may also be extended for fetching a good price during different occasions. The present investigation comprised five oriental lily varieties along with three planting time (1st fortnight of October, 2nd fortnight of October and 1st fortnight of November) and observations were recorded for various vegetative parameters. Out of the three-planting time, the varieties planted during 1st fortnight of October performed better resulting in terms of maximum plant height, number of leaves, leaf length, leaf width etc. Among the varieties, St. Andrews performed overall best with respect to highest percentage of bulb sprouting, plant height, leaf length, leaf width etc.