Spider Lily (Hymenocallis littoralis L.) Bulbs Storage & Planting

Spider lily (Hymenocallis littorallis L.) belongs to the family Amaryllidaceae. It is cultivated for its fragrant white flowers. It is being grown on commercial scale in Gujarat(India) for production of loose flowers. Lily is bulbous herbaceous perennial plant with 45-60 cm tall. It has long, broad and strap shaped light green leaves. An umbel produced 9-10 flowers on its head. 2-3 flower umbels are produced at a time on a single plant. Being a bulbous crop, the spider lily is propagated through bulbs. Bulbs from old plant are dug-out carefully and stored for desired time. During storage pre-planting sprouting and decay of bulbs are the serious problems. Pre-planting sprouting and decay of onion bulbs are overcome with 1000 to 3000 ppm pre-harvest spray of MH. The compound is applied as a pre-harvest foliar spray since it is rapidly translocated to the storage organs. Here, study was done to find out the effect of pre-harvest treatments of MH and different storage conditions on reducing sprouting and spoilage of bulbs during storage. As well as to ascertain the residual effect of pre harvest MH and storage conditions on growth and flowering was also evaluated.