Title: EFFECT OF FOLIAR APPLICATION OF HUMIC ACID AND BENZYLADENINE ON GROWTH AND FLOWERING OF POT MARIGOLD (Calendula officinalis L.)
Abstract: The experiment was conducted at the Horticultural Department, College of Agriculture, Duhok University, during growing season from October, 2017 to April, 2018. To study the effect of humic acid and benzyladenine on the growth and flowering development of pot marigold, the seedlings which growth of transplanted in to plastic bag which were spray with three concentrations of humic acid (HA) (0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15) g l-1 and benzyladenine (BA) (0, 50, 100 and 150) mg l-1. The results show that treated plants with HA at 0.15 g l-1 led to positive effect in no. of leaves/ plant, fresh weight of roots/ plant, days required to inflorescence bud initiation, no. of days remain inflorescence on the plant, no. of ray flowers/ inflorescence, dry weight of inflorescence and vas life, also it was noticed that the no. of lateral branches, (E-W) plant spread, fresh weight of vegetative growth/ plant, no. of days required to convert inflorescence bud to full inflorescence and inflorescence diameter was observed at 150 mg l-1 of BA.