Effect of different salinity levels and month of exposure on vegetative growth of bougainvillea (Bougainvillea peruviana L.)

Abstract

The present investigation was conducted to study the Effect of different salinity levels on vegetative growth of bougainvillea (Bougainvillea peruviana L.) at Horticulture Polytechnic, ASPEE College of Horticulture, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat during March, 2023 to May, 2023. The experiment consists of six treatments of different salinity levels i.e. I1: Best available water (Control), I2: 3.0 dSm-1, I3: 6.0 dSm-1, I4: 9.0 dSm-1, I5: 12.0 dSm-1 and I6: 15.0 dSm-1 with four repetitions in completely randomized design. Among different levels of salinity, best available water (I1: Control) showed the maximum plant height (45.39 cm), number of leaves (64.79), stem girth (1.15 cm), number of branches per plant (2.77) and leaf area (27.94 cm2) in the month of March (M1). Thus, as the month of exposure and salinity increased, all vegetative parameters decreased. Overall vegetative growth parameters of bougainvillea plants remain acceptable up to the salinity level 9.0 dSm-1. Thus, bougainvillea plant has been found to be a moderate salt tolerant crop.