Enhancing Floral and Post-harvest Traits in Gladiolus through EMS-Induced Mutagenesis

Gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflora L.) cv. ‘White Prosperity’ is a commercially important cut flower, valued for its glossy white colored spikes and excellent vase life. Among cut flower it stands second in ranking after roses but narrow genetic base limits in its breeding which creates potential for improving their floral and postharvest characters. This study was aimed to induce genetic variation by using different concentration of chemical mutagen, Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) (control, @ 0.25%, @ 0.50%, @ 0.75% and @ 1.00%) for enhancing floral and postharvest attributes. Using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), significant variations were observed and recorded. The data showed that treatment T1 (0.25 %) showed overall best results with longest vase life (12.4 days), good stalk length (43.33 cm), number of florets (7.5), intermediate flower size with length of 5.37 cm and width of 53.56 mm. Also, maintained higher flower quality based on rubric scoring method. EMS treatment T3 (0.75 %) showed moderate results by delaying senescence (3.79 days) while T4 (1.00 %) enhances stalk length (43.40 cm) and also promoted earliest spike emergence (118.67 days). However, T3 and T4 negatively affected floret number, flower size and vase life. Overall low concentration (0.25 %) emerged as most effective for improving both ornamental and postharvest longevity, making it a promising treatment for mutant selection and future gladiolus breeding. This study successfully demonstrates the potential of EMS mutagenesis for enhancing commercially important traits in gladiolus cultivation.