Research Article

Morphological Comparison of Oriental Lily (Lilium longifolium) Cultivars Grown in Four Production Systems in Pothwar Region, Pakistan

Atyab Amjad1*, Riaz-Ur-Rehman1, Muhammad Shafique Khalid2, Samia Ikram1, Riaz Bukhari1, Muhammad Shafique3 and Muhammad Luqman4

1Directorate of Floriculture (TandR), Agriculture Department, Agriculture House, 21-Davis Road, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan; 2Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus; 3University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Sub-Campus Burewala; 4Agronomic Research Station, Khanewal, Pakistan.

Received | July 27, 2021; Accepted | June 03, 2024; Published | June 27, 2024

*Correspondence | Atyab Amjad, Directorate of Floriculture (TandR), Agriculture Department, Agriculture House, 21-Davis Road, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan; Email: [email protected]

Citation | Amjad, A., R.-U. Rehman, M.S. Khalid, S. Ikram, R. Bukhari, M. Shafique and M. Luqman. 2024. Morphological comparison of oriental lily (Lilium longifolium) cultivars grown in four production systems in Pothwar region, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, 37(2): 172-175.

DOI | https://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.pjar/2024/37.2.172.175

Keywords | Morphological Comparison of Oriental Lily

Copyright: 2024 by the authors. Licensee ResearchersLinks Ltd, England, UK.

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Introduction

Lilium is a bulbous flower comes on sixth number in genera produced worldwide (Hertogh and Nard, 1993). Lilium is a cut flower with perennial growing habit and belongs to family Liliaceae. The cut flower has great economic importance in the international cut flower market (Jimenez et al., 2012). Due to its size, beauty and longevity Lilium is one of the ten most superior cut flowers in the world (Thakur et al., 2005). It’s highly demanded all over the world due to its ornamental and medicinal value, since centuries it has been growing as ornamental plant. Genus lilium includes almost 100 species and its native to Asia, Europe and America (Rae, 1998). Lilium has a wide range of shapes and colors produced via technique of interspecific hybridization. These hybrids are in great increasing demand especially Asiatic and oriental types as cut flower and pot plant (Lian et al., 2003). The Netherlands is the global leader in cultivating lilies, dedicating the most land to this crop at roughly 3,699 hectares. France follows in second place with a production area of 438 hectares, while Chile comes in third, cultivating lilies on 240 hectares of land (Anonymous, 2009).

Improved varieties/ hybrids are one of many factors responsible for growth, yield and quality of flowers, including lilium, which plays a significant role that need proper evaluation for their performance under local agro-climatic condition (Sharma et al., 2018). Lilium is amazingly attractive ornamental plant with varied significance grown on border or planted in lines along formal footpaths, beds, and beautiful pots. Lilies are beautiful cut flowers of superb appearance with enormous color range, fragrance and adaptability to several environmental conditions.

Lilies (Lilium) are gaining popularity in Pakistan due to their vibrant colors, long vase life, and high market demand. This demand has historically been met through imports, but Pakistani growers are now starting their own cultivation efforts. However, a lack of information on local production techniques is a significant hurdle. In recent years, Oriental and Asiatic lilies have become increasingly popular as ornamentals and potted plants, with both hobbyists and professionals incorporating them into their gardens. Despite this growing interest, many growers remain hesitant due to limited knowledge about cultivating lilies. Recognizing the ideal climate conditions of the Pothwar region for ornamental plants, this study aimed to evaluate four Oriental lily cultivars under different growing conditions within this area.

Materials and Methods

This study, conducted between December 2018 and February 2020 at the Horticultural Research Institute for Floriculture and Landscaping in Islamabad, Pakistan, investigated the performance of three Oriental lily varieties under four different growing conditions. The selected varieties were Sorbonne, Montezuma, and Crystal Blanco. The experiment employed a Randomized Complete Block Design with four growth conditions: Open field, lath house, green net, and polytunnel. Plant bulbs were sourced from a reputable seed dealer in Lahore and brought to Islamabad. Before planting, the bulbs were stored at 25°C ± 2°C for 48 hours. Each plot was prepared thoroughly, and bulbs were planted 7.5 cm deep with 20 cm spacing between plants and 60 cm spacing between rows. Ten bulbs of each variety were planted in each replicate, with three replicates per treatment. Standard cultural practices such as hoeing, weeding, staking, irrigation, and integrated pest management (IPM) were applied uniformly across all treatments.

Results and Discussion

Plant height was maximum in case of crystal blanco under greenhouse condition which was observed 86.9 cm, followed by 62.9 cm in same variety under lath house, while the minimum plant height was observed in sorbonne under lath house which was 4 cm (Figure 1). From the data recorded it is clear that the environmental condition plays a major role in growth and development of different ornamental plants.

The same results were studied by Fatmi et al. (2017). The number of leaves plant per plant (38) were maximum under green net in Crystal Blanco while minimum was observed (2.4) in Sorbonne in open field (Figure 2). The same result were studied by Mohanty et al. (2011) who described that under green net conditions plant obtained maximum productivity. In case of leaf area, the maximum leaf area (153.9 cm2) was observed under poly tunnel in Crystal Blanco, while minimum was observed (2.4 cm2) in Sorbonne under lath house condition (Figure 3). The same results were reported by Slathia et al. (2018), who found that under poly tunnel the light availability is maximum which leads to active photosynthesis resulting maximum leaf area. In case of stem diameter, maximum reading (8.4 mm) was observed in Crystal Blanco under lath house and green net with no significant difference, while minimum (1 mm) was observed in Montezuma under poly tunnel as shown in Figure 4. These results are in line with the work of Naik et al. (2006) who reported that gerbera attain maximum value under green net conditions. Number of buds plant per plant were recorded maximum (2.55) in Crystal Blanco under lath house while the minimum was observed in Sorbonne under poly tunnel (Figure 5). Bud diameter was maximum (20.2 mm) in Crystal Blanco under green net, while minimum (4.1 mm) was observed in Sorbonne under poly tunnel which (Figure 6). Same results were reported by Fatmi et. al., 2017 who observed maximum bud diameter in lilies under control condition. The data of vase life showed that, maximum vase life (8.3 days) was recorded in Crystal Blanco under lath house condition, while minimum (0.6) was observed in Montezuma under poly tunnel (Figure 7). The results were in lined with Bhosale et al. (2011), who reported that Gerbera attain maximum vase life under control conditions.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The data suggests that Crystal Blanco (variety# 3) performed best overall. Polytunnels and green netting were also effective growing conditions. These findings indicate that lilies in the Pothwar region may benefit from warmer temperatures during initial growth stages, potentially explaining the positive results observed in polytunnels. However, green netting appears to be sufficient for optimal growth later in the season (end of January onwards).

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge the support and cooperation of “Directorate of Floriculture (T and R) Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan” and my office colleagues during this research study.

Novelty Statement

Help growers to work on best performer variety in Pothwar region for commercial use.

Author Contribution

Atyab Amjad: Compiles the data and wrote menu-script.

Riaz Ur Rhman and Riaz Bukhari: Suggested the improvements.

Shafique Khalid and Samia Ikram: Help out in statistical analysis.

Shafique and Muhammad Luqman: Help out in the write up of this paper.

Conflict of interest

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.

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