Influence of planting dates and spacing on flowering and yield of African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) cv. Punjab Genda No. 1 under Semi-Arid conditions of Rajasthan

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at Crop Research Farm, School of Agricultural Sciences, Jaipur National University, Jaipur, Rajasthan during rabi, 2024-25 on sandy loamy soil. The experiment was laid out in Factorial Randomized Block Design, Replicated thrice, consisting of fifteen treatments. planting dates i.e., D1 (10th November), D2 (20th November), D3 (30th November), D4 (10th December) and D5 (20th December) and spacing i.e., S1 (30 x 30 cm), S2 (30 x 40 cm) and S3 (30 x 50 cm) The results revealed that the treatment combination D₁S₃ (10th November + 30 cm x 50 cm spacing) significantly outperformed all other treatments. This combination recorded the earliest flower bud formation (43.26 days) and flowering (52.33 days). D₁S₃ also showed the longest flowering duration (78.11 days), largest flower diameter (6.80 cm), maximum flower weight per plant (434.44 g), and the highest flower yield per hectare (17066.67 kg/ha). These findings suggest that planting African marigold on 10th November at a spacing of 30 cm x 50 cm is the most suitable for achieving optimum growth, enhanced flowering, and maximum flower yield in semi-arid regions.