Journal of Crop Production and Processing

The improvement of growth and flowering of petunia as one of the most popular and cultivated bedding plants in Iran, is of significant importance. Thus, a CRD experiment with five replications was conducted at the Research Greenhouse of Shahid Bahonar University, Kerman, Iran.  From 48 days after sowing, when the seedlings had 5-6 true leaves, the seedlings were sprayed with  thiamine (0 and 100 mgL^-1), ascorbic acid (0 and 100 mg L^-1) and benzyl adenine (0 and 200 mg L^-1) at 4 steps during  growth and development. The results indicated that the treatment of ascorbic acid with thiamine and benzyl adenine led to 2.5 and 3.5-fold increases in the number and length of lateral shoots compared to control treatment. The greatest fresh weight was obtained with ascorbic acid with thiamine and benzyl adenine treatment which led to a 2.5-fold increase in this trait, compared to the control. The highest dry weight was achieved in benzyl adenine treatment. The greatest vase-life and flower diameter were found with ascorbic acid (100 mg L^-1), thiamine (100 mg L^-1) and benzyl adenine (200 mg L^-1) treatments in an extent that the flower longevity and diameter were increased by 83% and 72%, respectively, in comparison to control. Furthermore, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoids and reduced sugars concentrations were significantly increased by the foliar-applied compounds compared to control.