Effect of Triacontanol and Mixtalol on Rose-Scented Geranium (Pelargoniumsp.)

Foliar application of long-chain aliphatic alcohol plant growth regulators, triacontanol and mixtalol, significantly increased yield attributes of rose-scented geranium cv. Bourbon. The attributes affected were height and number of branches; yields of leaves, stem and branches (without leaves), shoot, root and essential oil and recovery and percentages of oil components. The enhancement over control plants in root yield was much greater than shoot yield indicating the influence of these plant growth regulators on root growth and development. Leaf cuttings of third, fourth and fifth leaves produced adventitious roots and shoots under ambient conditions when treated (foliar spray) with triacontanol at the time of planting. Triacontanol spray increased root characters like number of roots, total root length, maximum root length, root yield and shoot characters such as weight of leaves, petioles and shoot. The effect of the treatment was greater on root characters, further revealing the influence of triacontanol on root growth and development of rose-scented geranium cv. Bourbon. Distillation of leaves after rooting yielded no essential oil.