MSc

The study on “Canopy management in foliage plants for interiorscaping” was
conducted during 2013-2014 in the Department of Pomology and Floriculture, College of
Horticulture, Vellanikkara. The main objective of the study is to determine the effect of
application of growth retardants on plant canopy and subsequent interior performance of
selected foliage plants.
Six species of foliage plants viz., Dieffenbachia amoena and Dracaena sanderiana
(Upright type), Syngonium podophyllum and Scindapsus aureus (Climbing type), Ficus
benjamina and Schefflera arboricola (Tree like) were selected for the study. The selected
foliage plants were kept under greenhouse with 50% shade. Growth retarding chemicals viz.,
ancymidol, paclobutrazol, B-nine and cycocel with two concentrations each, were applied at
three months and six months after planting. Observations on quantitative and qualitative
characters were recorded. Chlorophyll content estimation and anatomical studies were
conducted using standard procedures. The plants were shifted under indoor conditions with 800
– 2000 lux light intensity and observations were recorded as earlier.
Among the quantitative characters, the plant height was lowest in T4 (paclobutrazol 100
ppm) in Syngonium podophyllum and tree like plants and in T7 (cycocel 1000 ppm) in upright
plants and T2 (ancymidol 1000 ppm) in Scindapsus aureus with the highest in control. The
lowest plant spread was due to T7 (cycocel 1000 ppm) in Dracaena sanderiana and T8 (cycocel
2000 ppm) in Dieffenbachia amoena with the highest in control. The lowest leaf length was
observed in T3 (paclobutrazol 50 ppm) in Syngonium podophyllum and T4 (paclobutrazol 100
ppm) in Ficus benjamina compared to control. The T4 (paclobutrazol 100 ppm) had shown
lowest leaf breadth in Dracaena sanderiana with a significant difference from rest of the
treatments. The lowest leaf area was observed in T3 (paclobutrazol 50 ppm) in Syngonium
podophyllum and T4 (paclobutrazol 100 ppm) in Scindapsus aureus and Ficus benjamina
compared to control.
The lowest internodal length was observed in T2 (ancymidol 1000 ppm) in
Dieffenbachia amoena and Schefflera arboricola, T4 (paclobutrazol 100 ppm) in Syngonium
podophyllum and Ficus benjamina and T7 (CCC 1000 ppm) in Dracaena sanderiana. The
lowest petiole length was observed in T1 (ancymidol 500 ppm) in Schefflera arboricola, T3
(paclobutrazol 50 ppm) in Syngonium podophyllum and Scindapsus aureus, T7 (CCC 1000
ppm) in Dracaena sanderiana and T8 (CCC 2000 ppm) in Dieffenbachia amoena compared to
control. The lowest petiole girth was observed in T4 (paclobutrazol 100 ppm) in Scindapsus
aureus compared to control.The highest leaf longevity was observed in T3 (paclobutrazol 50
ppm) in Syngonium podophyllum and T4 (paclobutrazol 100 ppm) in Ficus benjamina. The
number of leaves and leaf producing interval were not influenced by the treatment application.
The plants were rated based on visual appearance. The highest plant quality rating
based on growth and full ness was observed in T1 (ancymidol 500 ppm) and T2 (ancymidol
1000 ppm) in Scindapsus aureus, T3 (paclobutrazol 50 ppm) in Syngonium podophyllum, T4
(paclobutrazol 100 ppm) in Syngonium podophyllum, Scindapsus aureus, Ficus benjamina and
Schefflera arboricola, T7 (CCC 1000 ppm) in Dieffenbachia amoena, and Dracaena
sanderiana, T8 (CCC 2000 ppm) in Syngonium podophyllum and Scindapsus aureus compared
to the rest of the treatments. The treatment T4 (paclobutrazol 100 ppm) has shown highest
plant quality rating based on pigmentation, chlorophyll content and higher number of palisade
cells per unit length in Dieffenbachia amoena, Dracaena sanderiana, Scindapsus aureus and
Ficus benjamina compared to the rest of treatments.
When the plants were shifted to the indoor conditions similar results were obtained.
Indoor life was highest in T2 (ancymidol 1000 ppm) in Scindapsus aureus and T4
(paclobutrazol 100 ppm) in Ficus benjamina compared to the control. By the application of
growth retardants the foliage plants could be made more compact which their quality as indoor
plants. Chlorophyll content was increased thereby improving the appearance. Quality rating
was also high in the plants treated with growth retardants. It improves the indoor life of foliage
plants.
Paclobutrazol 100 ppm was proven to be effective in retarding growth of selected
foliage plants followed by CCC 1000 ppm, paclobutrazol 50 ppm and ancymidol 1000 ppm.
As the cost of application of paclobutrazol is less, it can be used as an effective growth
retardant for the improvement of quality of foliage plants. Though the cost of application of
cycocel per plant is more, there will be an increase in the quality of foliage plants which in turn
fetches good price in the market.