Growth Traits of Pendent Heliconia Genotypes in Kanyakumari Conditions

Heliconia is one of the important emerging exotic specialty cut flowers which is gaining importance in the Indian markets and is used as a cut flower, floral decoration, and beautifying gardens. We carried out a field experiment at Horticultural Research Station, Pechiparai, Kanyakumari to evaluate the performance of pendent Heliconia genotypes based on the growth characteristics. The results revealed that among the eight genotypes evaluated, H. chartacea ‘Surinam Gold’ recorded the highest plant height (168.12 cm and 228.32 cm) at 120 and 180 days after planting (DAP) followed by H. vellerigera ‘Red’ and H. chartacea ‘Sexy Pink’ which were on par with each other with the maximum number of suckers (8.05 and 8.20 respectively). H. vellerigera ‘Red’ has the highest stem girth of the rest of the genotypes.