Stunting of cock's comb (Celosia cristata L.) plants

Middle East Journal of Agriculture Research ISSN 2077-4605 ABSTRACT Volume : 07 Issue : 01 Jan.-Mar. 2018 Pages:83-99 Stunting of cock's comb (Celosia cristata L.) plants Atef S. I. Tawila Botanical Gards Res. Dept., Hort. Res. Inst., ARC, Giza, Egypt. Received: 17 Oct. 2017 / Accepted: 18 Jan. 2018 / Publication date: 05 Feb. 2018 Cock's comb (Celosia cristata L.) is a summer-annual, herbaceous plant, that produces dense undulating inflorescences resemble the red combs of roosters, which makes such plant an important option for summer decoration. However, due to its considerable height that makes it difficult to transport and commercialize, the present study was conducted in the open field at the nursery of Hort. Res. Inst., A.R.C., Giza, Egypt during 2015 and 2016 seasons to evaluate the efficiency of paclobutrazol (PP-333) at concentrations of 0, 50, 100 and 150, cycocel (CCC) at concentrations of 0, 1000, 2000 and 3000 (both as foliar spray), plus fertilizing with potassium sulphate (K 2SO 4) at the rates of 0, 1, 2 and 3 g/plant (as a soil drench) and their interactions on controlling growth of such tall plant, and to study their effects on flowering and chemical composition of the plant when planting it in 20-cm-diameter plastic pots filled with about 4 kg of sand and loam mixture at equal volume parts (1:1, v/v). The control plants were sprayed with only tap water The obtained results showed that means of plant height and No. root branches/plant were descendingly decreased with increasing PP-333 and CCC concentrations to reach the minimal values by the high concentrations. The reduction caused by the low concentrations was slight, but the medium concentrations (PP-333 at 100 and CCC at 2000 ) reduced the plant and root size to the most proper volumes for marketing. The number of leaves/plant and their fresh and dry weights, as well as root length and roots fresh and dry weights, however were increased in response to the different concentrations of both growth retardants, with the prevalence of PP-333 at medium level (100 ), which mostly gave the highest records in both seasons. The medium level of CCC (2000 ) only attained the highest No. leaves/plant in the two seasons. On the other side, fertilizing with K 2SO 4 at various rates had no significant effects on vegetative growth parameters, but means of root characters were progressively increased with increasing K 2SO 4 rates in both seasons. However, the best dwarfing was obtained from spraying the plants with PP-333 at 100 + fertilizing with K2SO4 at 3 g/plant, as this interaction gave the most suitable plant height, No. leaves and root volume going with the pot size. Likewise, combining between CCC at 2000 and 3 g K 2SO 4/plant resulted good stunted specimens valid as pot plants. Data revealed also that flowering was gradually delayed with increasing concentrations of either PP-333 or CCC, while K 2SO 4 caused a significant precocity, especially at the rates of 2 and 3 g/plant. Besides, the means of No. inflorescences/plant, inflorescence diameter, flowering stalk length and diameter, as well as inflorescence fresh and dry weights were significantly improved by the medium level of both PP-333 (100 ) and CCC (2000 ) over control, but the dominance was for 100 PP-333 treatment that gave the highest values in the two seasons. Also, the best results of flowering characteristics were acquired by combining between the medium level of either growth retardants and K 2SO 4 at either 2 or 3 g/plant. The leaf contents of chlorophyll a, b, carotenoids and nitrogen were descendingly decreased with increasing concentrations of both PP-333 and CCC, but the opposite was the right regarding phosphorus, potassium and total carbohydrates contents. On the contrary, contents of all aforenamed constituents were increased by the various rates of K 2SO 4 with few exceptions relative to the control. Total indloes content was linearly decreased with increasing concentrations of each growth retardant compared to control after the first and second sprays, while after the 3 rd one, it was reduced by only by the highest concentrations. The opposite trend was obtained concerning total phenols content determined after the three sprays. On the other hand, contents of both total indoles and phenols were progressively increased, with few exceptions as the rate of K 2SO 4 application was raised after the three sprays done in this study. In general, the highest pigments content in the leaves was attained by combining between control treatment and 3 g/pot K 2SO 4 level, but that was true for total phenols content by combining between the highest level of Corresponding Author: Atef S. I. Tawila, Botanical Gards Res. Dept., Hort. Res. Inst., ARC, Giza, Egypt. 83

either PP-333 (150 ) or CCC (3000 ) and any rate of K 2SO 4. However, the effect of the interaction treatments on the contents of N, P, K, total carbohydrates and total indoles was fluctuated. From the previous results, it is recommended to spray the foliage of cock's comb (Celosia cristata L.) seedlings with either PP-333 at 100 or CCC at 2000 concentration, 3 times with 15 days interval and fertilizing them with K 2SO 4 at 3 g/plant as soil drench, 3 times with one month interval to obtain stunted, compact and floriferous pot plants suitable for commercial marketing. Key words: Cock's comb (Celosia cristata L.), paclobutrazol, cycocel, potassium sulphate, growth, chemical composition Introduction Cock's comb (Celosia cristata L.) is a herbaceous annual plant of tropical origin, grows well in both humid and arid conditions up to 80 cm height or more, depending on the variety. It is a common garden plant (bed plant) of the amaranth family (Amaranthaceae). It produces dense undulating inflorescences that resemble the red combs on the heads of roosters, hence its common name, the colours range from white and yellow to shades of orange, red and purple. The inflorescences are used as cut flowers because they can last up to 8 weeks, and can be dried to use in floral arrangement. The leaves are oval and arranged alternately along the stem and are often borne on a reddish petiole. The small flowers have colourful bracts and are densely arranged in showy inflorescences and produce large amounts of seeds (Bailey, 1976; Huxley et al., 1992). Plant growth retardants are commonly applied to limit stem elongation and produce a more compact plant (Gholampour et al., 2015). Control of plant height and production of branched, compact, vigorous and floriferous plants with a uniform growth of shoots and a more intense colouring of the leaves and flowers need to apply growth retardants to produce plants with particularly commercial aspects (Nicu and Manda, 2015). Therefore, many efforts were done in order to control vegetative growth and produce flower decorative plants. In this regard, Easwaran et al., (1999) found that CCC at 1000 and PP-333 at 100 reduced growth of Celosia cristata, but increased leaf N, P and K contents. Whipker et al., (2003) reported that PP-333 at 30 mg/l decreased height and growth of Celosia cristata var. plumosa plants more than control ones by 40 %. Stem diameter was also decreased by 30 mg/l PP-333, uniconazole at 5 mg/l and flurprimidol at 40 or 80 mg/l. Furthermore, Bodhipadma et al., (2011) mentioned that shoots developed from the shoot tip and nodal explants of Celosia cristata var. plumosa-feathered cockscomb after 8 weeks of culture in the presence of paclobutrazol (2.2 or 4.4 micro M) were shorter than those developed on basal MS medium alone. Similar observations were also obtained on some varieties of Celosia by Shanks (1981), Barrett and Nell (1986), Barrett and Nell (1989), Carver et al., (1990), Easwaran and Doraipandian (1998) and Magnitskiy et al., (2006) who revealed that elongation of Celosia cristata "New Look" seedlings was reduced by soaking seeds before sowing in 10, 50, 200 or 500 mg paclobutrazol/l solutions for 5, 180 or 360 min. On other ornamental plants, Singh (2000) noticed that plant height of Amaranthus tricolor was progressively decreased with increasing paclobutrazol concentrations, but highest No. branches, leaf : stem ratio and ascorbic acid content were recorded by PP-333 at 80. PP-333 at 100-120 decreased all vegetative growth characters. Similarly, were those results obtained by Shahin et al., (2006) on Rudbeckia hirta, Chen and Dai (2008) on Alternanthera versicolor, Hashemabadi et al., (2012) on Calendula officinalis, Kaviani et al., (2014) on Euphorbia pulcherrima, Nicu and Manda (2015) on Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Taherpazir and Hashemabadi (2016) on Zinnia elegans and Mortazavi et al., (2017) on ornamental cabbage. Among the macro-elements necessary for the accumulation of carbohydrates and maintaing the optimum growth and quality of plants is potassium (Garaie et al., 2016). It affects many functions in plants, as stomatal movement, regulating photosynthesis, respiratory rates and activating many enzymes involved in plant growth. It also enhances translocation of sugars through plant organs, increases protein synthesis and reduces respiration, preventing energy losses (Csizinsky, 1999). The previous benefits of potassium were documented before by Shahin et al., (2006) who 84

affirmed that dressing Rudbeckia hirta plants bimonthly with 3 g/pot of K 2SO 4 is necessary to obtain a good display flowering Rudbeckia plant stunted by foliar spray with 2000 CCC. Moreover, Michalojc (2007) reported that KCL is very useful to Gomphrena globosa cultivation. On Datura arborea, Li et al., (2013) declared that leaf fresh weight and leaf area were increased under fertilizing with jiabao (N: 12 % + K 2O: 44 %) and compound fertilizer (N:P:K = 2:1:1). On the same line, was the result gained by Garaie et al., (2016) on Catharanthus roseus. The current study, however, aims to reveal the effects of cycocel, paclobutrazol, potassium sulphate and their interactions on growth behaviour, flowering and chemical composition of cockscomb plants. Materials and Methods A pot experiment was undertaken in the open field at the nursery of Hort. Res. Inst., ARC, Giza, Egypt throughout the two consecutive seasons of 2015 and 2016 to find out the response of cockscomb seedlings to foliar spraying with two types of growth retardants (CCC and PP-333), fertilizing with K- sulphate and their interactions aiming to determine the most suitable sole or combined treatment for production of dwarf, compact and floriferous pot plant. Thus, 45-days-old seedlings of cockscomb (Celosia cristata L.) at a length of 14-15 cm with 4-5 leaves were transplanted on April, 15 th for each season in 20-cm-diameter plastic pots (one seedling/pot) filled with about 4kg of an equal mixture of sand and loam by volume (1:1, v/v). The physical and chemical properties of the sand and loam used in the two seasons are shown in Table. Table a: Some physical and chemical properties of the sand and loam used in 2015 and 2016 seasons. Soil Particle size distribution (%) E.C. Cations (meq/l) Anions (Meq/L) S.P. ph texture Coarse sand Fine sand Silt Clay (ds/m) Ca ++ Mg ++ Na + K + - HCO 3 Cl - -- SO 4 Sand 89.76 6.29 1.50 7.45 21.9 3.69 7.8 19.42 8.33 7.20 0.75 3.60 7.81 24.29 Loam 10.66 46.90 17.62 24.82 33.78 3.34 8.1 17.50 9.42 20.11 0.68 3.80 13.10 30.90 Immediately before planting, Ca-superphosphate (15.5 % P 2O 5) at 5 g/pot was added as one batch. After 15 days later (on May, 1 st ), the seedlings received the following treatments: a. Plant growth retardants treatments: Paclobutrazol (PP-333) at the rates of 0, 50, 100 and 150 and cycocel (CCC) at 0, 1000, 2000 and 3000 were sprayed as aqueous solutions on the foliage till the solution was runoff, 3 times with 15 days interval. b. Potassium fertilization treatments: Potassium sulphate (48.5 % K 2O) at the rates of 0, 1, 2 and 3 g/pot was added as soil drench, 3 times with one month interval. c. Interaction treatments: The treatments of growth retardants and K-fertilization were combined factorially to form 28 interaction treatments. A factorial experiment based on a compete randomized design was accomplished in both seasons, with three replicates as each replicate contained 5 plants (Mead et al., 1993). Irrigation and all other agricultural practices were carried out whenever needed, as usually grower did. At the end of each season, data were recorded as follows: plant height (cm), number of leaves/plant, root length of the longest root (cm), number of root branches/plant, as well as fresh and dry weights of leaves and roots (g). 85

Number of days to flowering (first bud opening), number of inflorescences / plant, inflorescence diameter (cm), flowering stalk length and diameter at the base (cm) and inflorescence fresh and dry weights (g) were also determined. In fresh leaf samples, photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids, mg/g f.w.) and the percentages of total carbohydrates, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were measured in the second season only using the methods described by Yadava (1986), Herbert et al., (1971), Black (1956), Luatanab and Olsen (1965) and Jackson (1973), respectively. Moreover, total indoles (A.O.A.C, 1980) and total phenols (William et al., 1965) were also assessed in fresh leaf samples, 3 times (two weeks after each spray) as mg/100 g f.w. Data were tabulated and subjected to analysis of variance using program of SAS Institute (2009), followed by Duncan's New Multiple Range Test (Steel and Torrie, 1980) for means comparison. Results and Discussion Effect of growth retardants, K-sulphate and their interactions on: 1. Vegetative and root growth parameters: It is evident from data presented in Table (1) that plant height (cm) of treated plants was descendingly decreased with increasing concentration of both PP-333 and CCC with significant differences compared to height of control plants in the two seasons. The reduction caused by the low concentration of the used two growth retardants was slight, and that caused by the high concentration was excessively great, but the medium concentration (100 PP-333 and 2000 CCC) shortened the plants to the most proper height in both seasons (about 33 cm by PP-333 and about 36 cm by CCC in the two seasons). This reduction may be attributed to that PP-333 and CCC treatments increase production of abscisic acid (ABA), but decrease gibberellins and auxins in the subapical meristematic zone of the stem, consequently retarding stem elongation by reducing cell division and extension (Million et al., 1999; Youssef and Abd El-Aal, 2013). In this regard, Shanks (1981) found that spraying Celosia cristata plants with PP-333 at 10-80 reduced shoot elongation without phytotoxic symptoms. Reduction in plant height of Celosia argentea cv. Geisha was also recorded by Barett and Nell (1989) by applying PP-333 at a wide range of concentrations. Likewise, Chen and Dai (2008) revealed that PP-333 was the most effective on dwarfing of Alternanthera versicolor plant than B-9 (daminozide) in terms of plant height and node length. The opposite was the right concerning No. leaves/plant and their fresh and dry weights (g), which were increased in response to the different concentrations of both growth retardants used in this work, with significant differences relative to control in most cases of the two seasons. However, the prevalence in these parameters was for the medium level of PP-333 (100 ) treatment that mostly gave the highest records in both seasons. The medium level of cycocel (2000 ) attained only the highest No. leaves/plant in the two seasons. Analogous results were documented before by Shahin et al., (2006) who postulated that CCC at 1000 concentration significantly increased leaf area and vegetative growth fresh weight of Rudbeckia hirta treated plants comparing with untreated ones. Likewise, Youssef and Abd El-Aal (2013) indicated that all concentrations of PP-333 (50, 100 and 150 ) and CCC (1000, 1500 and 2000 ) significantly increased number of branches and leaves/plant of Tabernaemontana coronaria to reach maximum with the highest concentrations of each. The heaviest fresh and dry weights of leaves/plant were gained by 100 PP-333-sprayed plants in the two seasons. On Plumbago copensis, Nicu and Manda (2013) noticed that CCC at either 1000 or 3000 had a positive influence regarding number of shoots formed per plant. On the other hand, fertilizing the plants with K 2SO 4 at various rates had no significant effect on the aforementioned parameters, as they gave means closely near together with non-significant differences among themselves and with control in both seasons, except for 2 and 3 g/plant treatments which significantly increased leaves fresh and dry weights, scoring the heaviest weights in the two seasons with non-significant differences in between. In this respect Michalojc (2007) mentioned that K- chloride is more useful to Gomphrena globosa cultivation than K-sulphate and K-nitrate. Li et al., 86

(2013) elicited that leaf fresh weight and leaf area of Datura arborea plants increased only by fertilizing with jiabao (N: 12 %, K 2O: 44 %) and compound fertilizer (N:P:K = 2: 1: 1). Table 1: Effect of growth retardants, potassium sulphate and their interactions on plant height and number of leaves of Celosia cristata plants during 2015 and 2016 seasons. K 2SO 4 rate Plant height (cm) Number of leaves/plant 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot First season: 2015 Control 68.17a 70.10a 68.37a 66.47a 68.28A 17.33f-i 18.33e-h 18.67d-h 21.00b-e 18.83C PP333 at 50 57.43b 53.97bc 52.50cd 56.13bc 55.01B 18.33e-h 18.67d-h 19.00d-h 19.33d-h 18.83C PP333 at 100 31.83g 34.37fg 31.67g 35.90fg 33.44E 19.67d-h 20.67c-f 21.67a-e 21.00b-e 20.75B PP333 at 150 21.17h 17.63h 18.03h 18.53h 18.84F 24.00ab 20.33c-g 19.33d-h 19.67d-h 20.83B CCC at 1000 46.23e 48.43de 47.57e 48.70de 47.73C 19.33d-h 19.67d-h 19.67d-h 19.67d-h 19.58BC CCC at 2000 33.60fg 37.80f 36.53f 37.17f 36.28D 21.33a 22.00a-d 23.00a-c 22.00a-d 22.83A CCC at 3000 12.60i 12.83i 13.10i 13.23i 12.94G 17.33f-i 16.67hi 17.00g-i 15.00i 16.50D (b) 38.72A 39.30A 38.25A 39.45A 20.05A 19.48A 19.76A 19.67A Second season: 2016 Control 69.97a 64.00b 66.67ab 65.83ab 66.62A 18.67d-i 19.33b-h 20.00a-f 18.33e-i 19.08C PP333 at 50 58.60c 54.57d 50.87e 49.97ef 53.50B 19.00c-h 18.33e-i 19.67a-g 20.67a-e 19.42BC PP333 at 100 29.27j 37.07i 31.93j 31.83j 32.53E 18.33e-i 22.00ab 21.00a-e 21.67a-c 20.75A PP333 at 150 19.80k 18.30k 18.50k 18.20k 18.70F 20.00a-f 21.00a-e 20.33a-f 20.33a-f 20.42AB CCC at 1000 45.67g 42.00h 46.70fg 46.80fg 45.29C 19.67a-g 20.33a-f 21.67a-c 19.33b-h 20.25A-C CCC at 2000 35.50i 36.67i 35.80i 38.60i 36.64D 21.33a-d 20.67a-e 21.00a-e 22.33a 21.33A CCC at 3000 13.93l 11.87l 13.27l 12.90l 12.99G 17.67f-i 16.00i 16.67hi 17.00g-i 16.83D (b) 38.96A 37.78A 37.68A 37.73A 19.24A 19.67A 20.05A 19.95A s followed by the same letter in a column or row don't differ significantly according to Duncan's New Multiple Range t-test at P= 0.05. Table 2: Effect of growth retardants, potassium sulphate and their interactions on leaves fresh and dry weights of Celosia cristata plants during 2015 and 2016 seasons. K 2SO 4 rate Fresh weight of leaves (gm) Dry weight of leaves (gm) 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot First season: 2015 Control 12.68k 12.99jk 13.57h-k 14.28f-i 13.38D 1.400n 1.560l-n 1.497mn 1.513mn 1.492D PP333 at 50 13.51i-k 14.15f-i 17.28a 16.49a-c 15.36B 1.477mn 1.607k-m 2.420c 2.357c 1.965C PP333 at 100 14.14f-i 15.01d-g 17.46a 17.53a 16.04A 1.710j-l 2.043e-g 2.640a 2.730a 2.281A PP333 at 150 14.94d-g 15.14d-f 15.74c-e 16.50a-c 15.58AB 1.790ij 2.097ef 2.327c 2.597ab 2.202B CCC at 1000 14.12f-i 14.68e-h 16.43a-c 16.49a-c 15.43B 1.837ij 2.020e-h 2.380c 2.447bc 2.171B CCC at 2000 14.93d-g 15.20d-f 16.96ab 15.92b-d 15.75AB 1.860h-j 2.123de 2.380c 2.273cd 2.159B CCC at 3000 13.92g-j 14.27f-i 14.61e-i 13.57h-k 14.09C 1.760i-k 1.917g-i 2.043e-g 1.930f-i 1.913C (b) 14.03C 14.49B 16.01A 15.83A 1.690C 1.910B 2.241A 2.264A Second season: 2016 Control 13.06j 13.56ij 13.83h-j 13.57ij 13.51E 1.430l 1.547i-l 1.600h-k 1.630h-j 1.552F PP333 at 50 13.91h-j 13.77h-j 17.11b 16.86b 15.41BC 1.460kl 1.497j-l 2.370de 2.570bc 1.974D PP333 at 100 13.62h-j 17.25b 16.77bc 18.58a 16.56A 1.640h-j 2.553bc 2.527c 2.743a 2.366A PP333 at 150 14.21g-i 15.57d-f 16.20b-d 16.76bc 15.68B 1.733gh 2.253e 2.337e 2.667ab 2.250B CCC at 1000 14.00g-j 15.00e-g 17.05b 16.46b-d 15.63BC 1.810g 2.063f 2.487cd 2.483cd 2.211B CCC at 2000 14.36g-i 14.70f-h 15.81c-e 15.78c-e 15.16C 1.803g 2.050f 2.313e 2.320e 2.122C CCC at 3000 13.80h-j 13.97g-j 14.05g-j 14.14g-j 13.99D 1.693g-i 1.807g 1.957f 1.973f 1.857E (b) 13.85C 14.83B 15.83A 16.02A 1.653D 1.967C 2.227B 2.342A s followed by the same letter in a column or row don't differ significantly according to Duncan's New Multiple Range t-test at P= 0.05. The best dwarfing, however was obtained by spraying the plants with PP-333 at 100 concentration and fertilizing them with K 2SO 4 at the rate of 3 g/plant, as this interaction gave the most 87

suitable plant height and No. leaves going with the pot size, plus the heaviest fresh and dry weights of the leaves in both seasons. The interaction between CCC at 2000 concentration and the high dose of K 2SO 4 (3 g/plant) recorded also suitable height and No. leaves/plant giving a good appearance for the resulted plants as pot specimens. On the same line, were those findings obtained by Carver et al., (1990) on Celosia, Pelargonium, marigold, Petunia, Salvia and Vinca, Whipker et al., (2003) on Celosia cristata var. plumosa, Bodhipadma et al., (2011) on Celosia argentea and Hashemabadi et al., (2012) who declared that the lowest plant height and the highest No. leaves/plant of Calendula officinalis were obtained by 500 CCC + 4500 B-9 interaction treatment. Furthermore, Kaviani et al., (2014) reported that the most suitable combined treatment for reduction of Euphorbia pulcherrima plant height and enhancing leaf number is 1.8 g/l Fe nano-fertilizer along with 1000 cycocel. On Zinnia elegans, Taherpazir and Hashemabadi (2016) found that 2000 CCC in 12-cm-pots produced the minimum height, whereas 16-cm-pots treated with 1000 CCC produced the maximum plant height. Regarding the effect of the present treatments on root growth characters, data presented in Tables (3 and 4) show that No. root branches/plant was significantly decreased as affected by the different concentrations of both PP-333 and CCC in both seasons. Hence, the highest No. root branches was formed on control plant, followed by those treated with 150 PP-333 in the two seasons. The opposite was the right concerning the root length (cm) and roots fresh and dry weights (g), which were significantly increased in response to the various treatments of growth retardants employed in such investigation, compared to control with few exceptions in both seasons. However, the superiority in these attributes was for the low concentration of PP-333 (50 ) treatment that attained the highest values in most cases of both seasons. The low level of CCC (1000 ) also elongated the roots to lengths close to those acquired by the low one of PP-333 (50 ) in the two seasons. On the other side, the means of root criteria mentioned above were progressively increased with increasing the rate of K 2SO 4 to reach the maximal values in the two seasons by the highest rate (3 g/plant). In this respect, Shahin et al., (2006) pointed out that K-sulphate at 3 g/plant significantly improved root length, root branchlets No./main root and roots fresh and dry weights of Rudbeckia hirta plants sprayed with 2000 CCC. Similarly, Garaie et al., (2016) reported that K 2SO 4 increased number of lateral branches, leaf area, shoot and root fresh weights of Catharanthus roseus plant. The greatest impact was achieved by 15000 treatment. The interaction treatments had also a significant effect on all root traits, where combining between the low concentration of PP-333 (50 ) and the high rate of K 2SO 4 (3 g/plant) as gave mostly the best results over all other interactions, with the exception of 100 PP-333 + 3 g/plant K 2SO 4 combination, that gave No. root branches and root lengths in both seasons near to those of the previous super interaction. This may be ascribed to lump the beneficial effects of both K-sulphate, as a source of K and S that play a vital role in accumulating carbohydrates, maintaining membrane stability, providing the plant with energy and regulating respiratory process, and paclobutrazol which may activates branching and metabolism at the low concentration. In this connection, Easwaran and Doraipandian (1998) stated that application of N at 150 kg/ha with a foliar spray of PP-333 at 150 to Celosia argentea var. cristata produced the tallest plants, more branches and shortest internodes. Besides, Mortazari et al., (2017) mentioned that using 200 mg/l salicylic acid and 150 mg/l CCC is the best combined treatment to improve plant height, leaf number, fresh and dry weights of roots and cold resistance of ornamental cabbage, consequently improve their quality and quantity in green spaces. 88

Table 3: Effect of growth retardants, potassium sulphate and their interactions on No. root branches/plant and root length of Celosia cristata plants during 2015 and 2016 seasons. K2SO4 rate No. root branches/plant Root length (cm) 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot First season: 2015 Control 4.33ab 3.67cd 3.67cd 4.00bc 3.92A 21.50n 24.13l-n 26.17i-m 29.40f-i 25.30C PP333 at 50 2.67fg 2.33gh 3.00ef 4.33ab 3.08BC 28.83g-j 33.60b-e 28.90g-j 35.97ab 31.82A PP333 at 100 2.00hi 3.00ef 3.00ef 4.67a 3.17BC 25.00k-m 26.90i-l 32.70b-f 38.77a 30.84A PP333 at 150 3.67cd 3.00ef 2.67fg 3.67cd 3.25B 23.57l-n 26.90i-l 30.50e-h 33.93b-d 28.73B CCC at 1000 3.33de 2.67fg 3.33de 2.67fg 2.92C 31.87c-g 29.40f-i 31.67c-h 32.63b-f 31.39A CCC at 2000 2.67fg 3.33de 3.33de 3.33de 3.17BC 23.40mn 26.57i-m 28.33h-k 30.73d-h 27.26B CCC at 3000 1.67i 2.33gh 3.00ef 3.33de 2.58D 26.17i-m 25.83j-m 28.63g-j 34.17bc 28.70B (b) 2.91C 2.91C 3.14B 3.67A 25.76D 27.621C 29.56B 33.66A Second season: 2016 Control 4.00bc 4.33ab 4.00bc 4.00bc 4.08A 25.03i-m 24.80j-n 27.03g-j 26.40h-l 25.82C PP333 at 50 3.33de 2.33gh 3.37cd 4.67a 3.50B 27.10g-j 29.77d-g 33.97ab 31.43b-e 30.57AB PP333 at 100 2.33gh 2.67fg 3.33de 4.67a 3.25C 23.83k-o 28.93e-h 34.57a 34.63a 30.49AB PP333 at 150 3.00ef 3.00ef 4.33ab 4.33ab 3.67B 22.27m-o 28.00f-i 32.03a-d 35.03a 29.33B CCC at 1000 2.67fg 3.33de 3.33de 3.67cd 3.25C 27.60f-j 33.43a-c 32.63a-d 31.47b-e 31.28A CCC at 2000 2.00h 3.00ef 2.67fg 3.67cd 2.83D 21.83no 23.40l-o 26.50h-k 30.47c-f 25.55C CCC at 3000 2.00h 2.67fg 2.67fg 3.33de 2.67D 21.07o 25.67i-l 27.47f-j 32.73a-d 26.73C (b) 2.76D 3.05C 3.43B 4.05A 24.10D 27.71C 30.60B 31.74A s followed by the same letter in a column or row don't differ significantly according to Duncan's New Multiple Range t-test at P= 0.05. Table 4: Effect of growth retardants, potassium sulphate and their interactions on roots fresh and dry weights of Celosia cristata plants during 2015 and 2016 seasons. K2SO4 rate Roots fresh weight (gm) Roots dry weight (gm) 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot First season: 2015 Control 2.29i-k 2.51g-j 2.46h-j 3.24ef 2.63D 0.633lm 0.710j-m 0.693k-m 0.863f-k 0.725E PP333 at 50 3.19ef 3.12e-g 4.01cd 5.21a 3.88A 0.837g-l 0.807h-m 1.207cd 1.803a 1.163A PP333 at 100 2.06i-k 2.28i-k 2.99e-h 4.72ab 3.01C 0.780i-m 0.737j-m 0.817h-m 1.543b 0.969BC PP333 at 150 2.13i-k 2.64f-j 2.60f-j 4.25bc 2.91CD 0.740j-m 0.770i-m 0.783i-m 1.257c 0.888CD CCC at 1000 1.99jk 2.60f-j 3.42de 2.66f-i 2.67D 0.627lm 0.803h-m 1.073c-e 0.860f-k 0.841D CCC at 2000 3.02e-h 3.50de 3.49de 3.44de 3.36B 0.923e-j 1.057d-f 1.040d-g 0.960e-i 0.995B CCC at 3000 1.15l 1.80k 2.54g-j 3.06e-h 2.14E 0.393n 0.610m 0.783i-m 1.003e-h 0.698E (b) 2.26D 2.64C 3.07B 3.80A 0.705D 0.785C 0.914B 1.184A Second season: 2016 Control 2.16kl 2.85h-i 2.76h-j 3.54c-f 2.83C 0.597i-k 0.830f-h 0.770g-i 0.903d-g 0.775D PP333 at 50 3.18e-h 2.94gh 4.21b 5.37a 3.93A 0.653h-k 0.770g-i 1.260b 1.823a 1.127A PP333 at 100 1.91kl 2.24jk 3.31c-h 4.10b 2.89C 0.520k 0.787g-i 0.883e-g 1.250b 0.860C PP333 at 150 1.96kl 2.40i-k 3.83bc 4.15b 3.09BC 0.540jk 0.720g-j 1.027c-e 1.227b 0.878C CCC at 1000 2.11kl 3.16e-h 3.22d-h 3.71b-e 3.05BC 0.690h-k 0.973c-f 1.077b-d 1.137bc 0.969B CCC at 2000 2.35i-k 3.46c-g 3.28c-h 3.78b-d 3.22B 0.713g-j 1.003c-f 1.017c-e 1.110bc 0.961B CCC at 3000 1.62l 2.19k 2.38i-k 3.11f-h 2.32D 0.513k 0.680h-k 0.757g-i 1.040c-e 0.748D (b) 2.18D 2.75C 3.29B 3.97A 0.604D 0.823C 0.970B 1.213A s followed by the same letter in a column or row don't differ significantly according to Duncan's New Multiple Range t-test at P= 0.05. 89

2. Flowering characteristics: The flowering variables measured for celosia plants being affected by PP-333 and CCC foliar spraying, K 2SO 4 fertilizing and their interaction are listed in Tables (5, 6, 7 and 8). It is clear from these data that flowering was gradually delayed with increasing concentrations of both PP-333 and CCC growth retardants to reach the highest No. days by the highest concentration of PP- 333 (150 ) and CCC (3000 ), as these two concentrations prolonged the means of such trait to 87.25 and 91.50 days in the first season and to 88.25 and 92.75 days in the second one against 61.00 and 62.75 days for control in the two seasons, respectively (Table, 5). This may be due to the role of growth retardants in inhibiting gibberellin formation, which leads to slowdown the growth and consequently the flowering (Kaviani et al., 2014). This result is concluded by the results of Whipker et al., (2003) who found that flurprimidol at 80 and 120 delayed flowering of Begonia hybrida. Likewise, Shahin et al., (2006) revealed that CCC at 2000 and 3000 significantly delayed flowering of Rudbeckia hirta plants by about 7-9 and 19-20 days, respectively after control ones. On Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis, Shi et al., (2016) clarified that the flowering time was delayed 12 days by spraying the foliage with PP-333 at 50. On the contrary, K 2SO 4 caused a significant precocity in flowering of fertilized plants, with the mastery of 2 and 3 g/pot doses which shortened No. days to flowering to the least number compared to other doses. This may be reasonable because potassium with other nutrients accelerates growth and this consequently accelerates flowering. Therefore, the earliest flowering at all was obtained in the two seasons by combining between control (without growth retardants) and dressing with K 2SO 4 at either 2 or 3 g/pot rate, as such two interactions decreased the No. days to flowering to 59 and 57 days in the 1 st season and to 60 and 59 days in the second one, while the longest time to flowering was recorded in both seasons by combining between the highest concentration of either PP-333 (150 ) or CCC (3000 ) in the absence of K 2SO 4 (0 g/pot). These gains are in accordance with those explored by Singh (2000) on Amaranthus tricolor, Shahin et al., (2006) on Rudbeckia hirta, Youssef and Abd El-Aal (2013) on Tabernaemontana coronaria and Shi et al., (2016) on Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis. Table 5: Effect of growth retardants, potassium sulphate and their interactions on No. days to flowering of Celosia cristata plants during 2015 and 2016 seasons. K2SO4 rate No. of days to flowering (day) 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot First season: 2015 Control 65.00m 63.00m 59.00n 57.00n 61.00F PP333 at 50 76.00h-j 76.00h-j 73.00kl 73.00kl 74.50D PP333 at 100 82.00f 79.00g 77.00g-i 76.00h-j 78.50C PP333 at 150 87.00cd 92.00a 86.00de 84.00ef 87.25B CCC at 1000 74.00j-l 74.00j-l 72.00l 72.00l 73.00E CCC at 2000 79.00g 78.00gh 78.00gh 75.00i-k 77.50C CCC at 3000 93.00a 93.00a 89.00bc 91.00ab 91.50A (b) 79.43A 79.29A 76.29B 75.43B Second season: 2016 Control 68.00k 64.00l 60.00m 59.00m 62.75G PP333 at 50 81.00fg 79.00gh 75.00ij 77.00hi 78.00E PP333 at 100 83.00d-f 84.00c-e 82.67ef 80.00g 82.42C PP333 at 150 91.00b 91.00b 86.00c 85.00cd 88.25B CCC at 1000 75.00ij 74.00j 73.00j 74.00j 74.00F CCC at 2000 81.00fg 80.00g 77.00hi 79.00gh 79.25D CCC at 3000 94.00a 92.00ab 92.00ab 93.00ab 92.75A (b) 81.86A 80.57B 77.95C 78.14C s followed by the same letter in a column or row don't differ significantly according to Duncan's New Multiple Range t-test at P= 0.05. 90

It was also noticed from data averaged in Tables (6, 7 and 8) that means of No. inflorescences/plant, inflorescence diameter (cm), flowering stalk length and diameter (cm), as well as inflorescence fresh and dry weights (g) were significantly increased by the medium concentration of both PP-333 (100 ) and CCC (2000 ) over control, with few exceptions in the two seasons, but the mastership was for the former treatment (100 PP-333), which mostly gave the highest means in both seasons. Such characteristics were also increased with significant differences relative to control in both seasons by drenching the soil with K 2SO 4, especially at 2 and 3 g/pot rates, which showed the superiority in the various characteristics in the two seasons. The interaction treatments exhibited also a pronounced effect on the aforenamed characters, where combining between the medium concentration of either growth retardants used in this study and K 2SO 4 at either 2 or 3 g/pot recorded higher means than other interactions in both seasons, but the dominance was for PP-333 at 100 + K 2SO 4 at 3 g/pot combinations, which reached the utmost high values in most cases of the two seasons, except for the individual treatment of K 2SO 4 at 1 g/pot, which attained the longest flowering stalk over all the other interactions in the two seasons. The previous results are in harmony with those postulated by Easwaran and Doraipandian (1998) who found that application of N at 100 kg/ha combined with a foliar spray of PP-333 at 150 produced the most flower spikes, the widest flower spikes and highest No. flower spikes per Celosia cristata plant. On Calendula officinalis, Hashemapadi et al., (2012) suggested that the largest No. flowers/plant was achieved by 500 CCC + 4500 B9, followed by 500 CCC + 1500 B9 interactions. Further, Youssef and Abd El-Aal (2013) observed that No. flowers per potted Tabernaemontana coronaria plant and their fresh and dry weights were significantly increased with PP-333 and CCC treatments. However, the highest No. flowers/plant was scored by 150 PP-333- sprayed plants, whereas the heaviest flowers fresh and dry weights were gained by CCC at 2000 sprayed plants. On Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis, Shi et al., (2016) reported that the florets No./inflorescence was increased by 27.7 % with CCC treatment of 1200. In addition, Garaie et al., (2016) pointed out that flower number and flower longevity of Catharansus roseus were progressively increased with increasing K 2SO 4 level to be the greatest by 15000 treatment. Table 6: Effect of growth retardants, potassium sulphate and their interactions on No. inflorescences/plant and inflorescence diameter of Celosia cristata plants during 2015 and 2016 seasons. K2SO4 rate No. inflorescences/plant Inflorescence diameter (cm) 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot First season: 2015 Control 5.00e-h 5.33d-g 6.00b-g 6.00b-g 5.58C 3.87n 5.07j-l 5.23i-k 5.40g-k 4.89E PP333 at 50 5.67c-g 5.00e-h 5.67c-g 6.00b-g 5.58C 4.47l-n 6.07e-g 5.97fg 6.90bc 5.85C PP333 at 100 5.33d-g 6.33a-f 7.00a-d 7.33a-c 6.50B 5.70f-j 7.43b 6.73cd 8.20a 7.02A PP333 at 150 4.67f-i 5.67c-g 4.67f-i 4.33g-i 4.83C 5.27h-k 5.20i-k 5.83f-i 5.20i-k 5.38D CCC at 1000 7.00a-d 7.67ab 7.00a-d 8.00a 7.42A 5.27h-k 6.67c-e 5.97fg 6.23d-f 6.03BC CCC at 2000 5.33d-g 6.67a-e 8.00a 6.33a-f 6.58B 5.90f-h 5.80f-i 6.07e-g 6.87bc 6.16B CCC at 3000 3.33hi 3.00i 4.33g-i 3.00i 3.42D 4.50lm 4.77k-m 4.53lm 4.37mn 4.54F (b) 5.19B 5.67AB 6.10A 5.86A 5.00C 5.86B 5.76B 6.17A Second season: 2016 Control 4.33f-h 4.00gh 5.00e-g 5.00e-g 4.58C 4.10lm 5.67g-i 5.83f-i 5.23ij 5.21D PP333 at 50 5.33d-g 6.00c-f 6.00c-f 5.00e-g 5.58B 4.93jk 5.87e-h 6.63cd 6.70b-d 6.03BC PP333 at 100 5.33d-g 6.67a-e 7.33a-c 7.33a-c 6.67A 6.83b-d 7.07bc 7.23b 7.97a 7.28A PP333 at 150 4.33f-h 3.67gh 4.33f-h 4.00gh 4.08C 4.67kl 5.30h-j 5.33h-j 5.47g-j 5.19D CCC at 1000 6.33b-e 6.67a-e 8.33a 6.33b-e 6.92A 4.97jk 5.80f-i 6.07e-g 6.43de 5.82C CCC at 2000 5.33d-g 7.00a-d 7.00a-d 8.00ab 6.83A 5.83f-i 6.00e-g 6.73b-d 6.33d-f 6.23B CCC at 3000 3.00h 4.00gh 3.67gh 2.67h 3.33D 3.90m 4.30lm 4.50kl 4.60kl 4.33E (b) 4.86B 5.43A 5.95A 5.48A 5.03C 5.71B 6.05A 6.11A s followed by the same letter in a column or row don't differ significantly according to Duncan's New Multiple Range t-test at P= 0.05. 91

Table 7: Effect of growth retardants, potassium sulphate and their interactions on flowering stalk length and diameter of Celosia cristata plants during 2015 and 2016 seasons. K2SO4 rate Flowering stalk length (cm) Flowering stalk diameter (cm) 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot First season: 2015 Control 27.47d 32.00a 29.87c 30.73b 30.02A 0.393l 0.523k 0.527k 0.623g-k 0.517C PP333 at 50 22.50f 24.23e 23.60e 22.27f 23.15B 0.643f-k 0.710d-i 0.697d-i 0.723c-i 0.693B PP333 at 100 18.20k 18.97j 16.97l 19.67i 18.45D 0.633f-k 0.787c-e 0.833b-d 0.967a 0.805A PP333 at 150 9.63n 8.23o 8.60o 9.30n 8.94F 0.650e-k 0.757c-g 0.693e-i 0.740c-h 0.710B CCC at 1000 21.33gh 22.00fg 20.97h 21.93fg 21.56C 0.550jk 0.750c-h 0.767c-f 0.930ab 0.749AB CCC at 2000 15.30m 17.10l 17.10l 17.00l 16.63E 0.617h-k 0.683e-j 0.783c-e 0.850a-c 0.733B CCC at 3000 5.30p 5.10p 5.20p 5.50p 5.28G 0.600i-k 0.700d-i 0.727c-i 0.767c-f 0.698B (b) 17.10C 18.23A 17.47B 18.06A 0.584C 0.701B 0.718B 0.800A Second season: 2016 Control 31.20b 34.83a 30.93b 28.97c 31.48A 0.420j 0.490j 0.587i 0.650e-i 0.537D PP333 at 50 23.97d 22.67e 23.03e 22.47e 23.03B 0.640f-i 0.693c-h 0.723c-g 0.743c-f 0.700C PP333 at 100 16.97i-k 20.27g 16.90jk 17.67i 17.95D 0.663e-i 0.790bc 0.883ab 0.950a 0.822A PP333 at 150 9.23m 9.00m 8.97m 8.77m 8.99F 0.600hi 0.700c-h 0.703c-h 0.787b-d 0.698C CCC at 1000 21.27f 18.90h 20.23g 20.80fg 20.30C 0.583i 0.750c-e 0.800bc 0.950a 0.771B CCC at 2000 15.90l 16.50kl 15.83l 17.37ij 16.40E 0.633g-i 0.683d-i 0.800bc 0.917a 0.758B CCC at 3000 5.60n 4.77o 5.20no 5.10no 5.17G 0.600hi 0.683d-i 0.783b-d 0.733c-g 0.700C (b) 17.73B 18.13A 17.30C 17.30C 0.591D 0.684C 0.754B 0.819A s followed by the same letter in a column or row don't differ significantly according to Duncan's New Multiple Range t-test at P= 0.05. Table 8: Effect of growth retardants, potassium sulphate and their interactions on inflorescence fresh and dry weight of Celosia cristata plants during 2015 and 2016 seasons. K2SO4 rate Inflorescence fresh weight (g) Inflorescence dry weight (g) 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot First season: 2015 Control 46.50l 64.13i 74.93h 75.10h 65.17D 7.51lm 11.87g-j 13.59e-i 13.63e-i 11.65D PP333 at 50 69.83h 69.57h 83.03g 88.50f 77.73C 12.45e-j 11.89g-j 14.07e-h 14.98d-h 13.35C PP333 at 100 96.90e 111.7cd 127.9ab 132.0a 117.1A 15.96c-e 19.00bc 23.43a 24.06a 20.61A PP333 at 150 60.20ij 75.00h 58.07j 64.43i 63.67D 9.63j-m 12.08f-j 9.95i-l 11.28h-k 10.73D CCC at 1000 113.6c 107.8d 125.7b 111.8cd 114.7A 19.17bc 18.45b-d 20.12b 19.71b 19.36A CCC at 2000 71.00h 91.77f 110.6cd 91.00f 91.09B 11.67g-j 15.68c-f 18.77bc 15.21d-g 15.33B CCC at 3000 52.70k 40.77m 60.20ij 47.23l 50.22E 7.99k-m 6.23m 9.54j-m 7.53lm 7.82E (b) 72.97D 79.67C 91.49A 87.15B 12.05C 13.60B 15.64A 15.20A Second season: 2016 Control 50.43j-l 46.93k-m 64.70g 65.37g 56.86D 9.15ij 8.64ij 11.79g-i 11.91g-i 10.37D PP333 at 50 67.33g 86.77f 84.73f 79.97f 78.95C 11.91g-i 14.38d-g 14.44d-g 13.55e-g 13.57C PP333 at 100 91.90e 116.6c 132.6b 138.2a 119.80A 15.44d-f 20.40b 24.25a 25.22a 21.33A PP333 at 150 56.53hi 49.43j-l 57.77h 51.90i-k 53.91E 8.98ij 8.40j 10.03h-j 9.16ij 9.14D CCC at 1000 82.50f 91.00e 139.2a 91.60e 101.10B 13.84d-g 15.48d-f 24.15a 16.11d-f 17.40B CCC at 2000 79.90f 99.53d 101.5d 115.9c 99.22B 13.18f-h 17.06cd 16.76c-e 19.31bc 16.58B CCC at 3000 45.33lm 47.50k-m 53.00h-j 43.70m 47.38F 6.88j 7.38j 8.36j 6.82j 7.36E (b) 67.70D 76.40C 90.51A 83.81B 11.34D 13.11C 15.68A 14.58B s followed by the same letter in a column or row don't differ significantly according to Duncan's New Multiple Range t-test at P= 0.05. 3. Chemical composition of the leaves: According to data presented in Tables (9 and 10), it can be concluded that chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids contents (mg/g f.w.) were descendingly decreased with increasing concentrations of both PP-333 and CCC to reach the minimal values by the highest concentrations of these two growth 92

retardants. A similar response occurred as well in respect to N %, which was gradually declined by the different concentrations of growth retardants used. The opposite was the right in the matter of P, K and total carbohydrates percentages, that raised in the leaves of growth retardants treated-plants as compared to the percentages of control plants. On the other side, the contents of all previously stated constituents were increased, with few exceptions in response to the various rates of K 2SO 4 over their contents in the leaves of control plants. The interaction treatments exerted also a clear effect on the contents of the active components mentioned before, as the highest pigments content in the leaves was reached by combining between control treatment (no growth retardants) and 3 g/pot K 2SO 4 level, whereas interactions effect on the percentages of N, P, K and total carbohydrates was inconstant. Table 9: Effect of growth retardants, potassium sulphate and their interactions on pigments content in Celosia cristata leaves during 2016 season. K2SO4 rate Chlorophyll (mg/g f.w.) 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot Control 0.426 0.349 0.508 0.681 0.491 PP333 at 50 0.211 0.467 0.48 0.418 0.394 PP333 at 100 0.398 0.347 0.379 0.19 0.329 PP333 at 150 0.208 0.383 0.207 0.279 0.269 CCC at 1000 0.575 0.394 0.375 0.438 0.446 CCC at 2000 0.108 0.214 0.348 0.484 0.289 CCC at 3000 0.129 0.198 0.299 0.201 0.207 (b) 0.294 0.336 0.371 0.384 Chlorophyll (b) (mg/g f.w.) Control 0.216 0.109 0.143 0.233 0.175 PP333 at 50 0.137 0.157 0.149 0.116 0.140 PP333 at 100 0.119 0.172 0.085 0.073 0.112 PP333 at 150 0.122 0.126 0.069 0.100 0.104 CCC at 1000 0.150 0.133 0.090 0.123 0.124 CCC at 2000 0.050 0.134 0.077 0.125 0.097 CCC at 3000 0.075 0.112 0.062 0.030 0.070 (b) 0.124 0.135 0.096 0.114 Carotenoids (mg/g f.w.) Control 0.334 0.264 0.382 0.502 0.371 PP333 at 50 0.172 0.354 0.301 0.321 0.287 PP333 at 100 0.326 0.297 0.282 0.148 0.263 PP333 at 150 0.231 0.286 0.160 0.222 0.225 CCC at 1000 0.425 0.304 0.274 0.331 0.334 CCC at 2000 0.096 0.211 0.250 0.366 0.231 CCC at 3000 0.146 0.167 0.217 0.160 0.173 (b) 0.247 0.269 0.267 0.293 93

Table 10: Effect of growth retardants, potassium sulphate and their interactions on N, P, K and total carbohydrates percentages in Celosia cristata leaves during 2016 season. K2SO4 rate N (%) P (%) 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot Control 2.13 2.34 2.21 2.28 2.24 0.155 0.219 0.231 0.230 0.21 PP333 at 50 1.93 2.12 2.09 2.12 2.07 0.296 0.304 0.276 0.281 0.29 PP333 at 100 1.78 1.8 1.85 1.91 1.84 0.243 0.251 0.312 0.321 0.28 PP333 at 150 1.63 1.71 1.67 1.78 1.70 0.227 0.233 0.247 0.239 0.24 CCC at 1000 2.24 2.39 2.29 2.08 2.25 0.302 0.321 0.318 0.319 0.32 CCC at 2000 1.81 1.92 1.88 1.79 1.85 0.288 0.291 0.289 0.302 0.29 CCC at 3000 1.59 1.76 1.65 1.71 1.68 0.219 0.222 0.230 0.217 0.22 (b) 1.87 2.01 1.95 1.95 0.25 0.26 0.27 0.27 K (%) Total carbohydrates (%) Control 1.86 1.95 2.25 2.45 2.13 11.62 11.87 12.36 11.92 11.94 PP333 at 50 2.39 2.47 2.51 2.66 2.51 15.38 14.69 13.98 13.77 14.46 PP333 at 100 2.64 2.73 2.74 2.85 2.74 13.94 15.41 15.35 15.26 14.99 PP333 at 150 2.18 2.25 2.32 2.52 2.32 12.71 12.35 11.74 12.86 12.42 CCC at 1000 2.47 2.49 2.61 2.73 2.58 14.93 14.88 15.19 15.31 15.08 CCC at 2000 2.41 2.38 2.40 2.58 2.44 12.90 13.06 13.42 13.30 13.17 CCC at 3000 1.89 1.96 1.83 2.50 2.05 11.88 11.75 11.50 12.01 11.79 (b) 2.26 2.32 2.38 2.61 13.34 13.43 13.36 13.49 As for total indoles and total phenols (mg/100 g f.w.), data presented in Table (11) and Figs. (1 and 2) exhibit that total indoles content was linearly decreased with increasing concentrations of both PP-333 and CCC compared to control after the first and second sprays, while after the third one, it was diminished only by the highest concentration of PP-333 (150 ) and CCC (3000 ), but slightly increased by their low and medium concentrations. On the contrary, were the results of total phenols contents, which were successively elevated as the concentrations of both growth retardants were increased, with few exceptions relative to the control after the three sprays. This would be reasonable because the untreated plants were forced and flowered earlier than the treated ones, indicating the importance of indoles in activating flowering process. On the other side, contents of total indoles and total phenols in the leaves of fertilized plants with K 2SO 4 were cumulatively increased, with few exceptions as a result of increasing the rate of K 2SO 4 application, to reach the maximal values by the highest rate (3 g/pot) after the first, second and third sprays. Although the contents of both total indoles and total phenols were increased together by the different rates of K 2SO 4 the concentrations of indoles were higher than the corresponding ones of phenols under the various levels of K 2SO 4. This may be the reason of early flowering of the plants fertilized with K 2SO 4, as indicated before in case of flowering characteristics. The effect of interaction treatments on indoles content was unsteady in the 3 determinations carried out after the 3 sprays of this study, while their effect on phenols content was more pronounced, where combining between the highest concentration of either PP-333 (150 ) or CCC (3000 ) and any rate of K 2SO 4 gave, in general the utmost high concentrations in comparison to those of control after the 3 sprays conducted. The present results conform with the previous reports stated on Celosia cristata by Easwaran et al., (1999) who found that CCC at 1000 and PP-333 at 100 increased leaf N, P and K contents. Application of 150 kg N/ha combined with CCC at 1000 resulted in the highest leaf N (4.1 %), P (0.72 %) and K (4.1 %). Several reports were also obtained for other ornamentals by Singh (2000) on Amaranthus tricolor, Chen and Dai (2008) on Alternanthera versicolor, Ling et al., (2009) on Pfaffia, Nicu and Manda (2013) on Beloperone guttata and Plumbago capensis, Nicu and Manda (2015) on Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and Garaie et al., (2016) who revealed that K 2SO 4 progressively increased anthocyanin and chlorophyll content in the leaves of Catharanthus roseus as the rate of application was increased. Besides, Mortazavi et al., (2017) noticed that CCC at 0, 50, 100 and 150, salicylic acid at 0, 50, 100 and 200 and their interactions had a significant effect on total chlorophyll content in the leaves of ornamental cabbage increasing its decorative value in green spaces. 94

According to the results of this experiment, it can be advised to spray cockscomb (Celosia cristata L.), 45-day-old seedlings with either PP-333 at 100 or CCC at 2000 concentration, three times with 15 days interval plus fertilizing them with K 2SO 4 at 3 g/plant as soil drench, three times with one month interval to get dwarf, compact and floriferous pot plants suitable for commercial marketing. Table 11: Effect of growth retardants, potassium sulphate and their interactions on total indoles and phenols content in Celosia cristata leaves during 2016 season. K2SO4 rate Indoles (mg/100 g. f.w.) Phenols (mg/100 g. f.w.) 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot First determination Control 0.1301 0.1284 0.1293 0.1255 0.1283 0.0632 0.0619 0.0623 0.0647 0.0630 PP333 at 50 0.1268 0.1259 0.1173 0.1209 0.1227 0.0714 0.0687 0.0715 0.0813 0.0732 PP333 at 100 0.1251 0.1235 0.1267 0.1305 0.1265 0.0866 0.0882 0.0970 0.0986 0.0926 PP333 at 150 0.1136 0.1187 0.1230 0.1168 0.1180 0.1190 0.1015 0.1285 0.1210 0.1175 CCC at 1000 0.1237 0.1269 0.1251 0.1218 0.1244 0.0723 0.0629 0.0931 0.0876 0.0790 CCC at 2000 0.1290 0.1275 0.1227 0.1309 0.1275 0.0941 0.0926 0.1014 0.1071 0.0988 CCC at 3000 0.1134 0.1225 0.1233 0.1286 0.1220 0.1128 0.1206 0.1415 0.1521 0.1318 (b) 0.1231 0.1248 0.1239 0.1250 0.0885 0.0852 0.0993 0.1018 Second determination Control 0.1286 0.1292 0.1324 0.1329 0.1308 0.0572 0.0617 0.0616 0.0518 0.0581 PP333 at 50 0.1273 0.1285 0.1237 0.1246 0.1260 0.0694 0.0820 0.0782 0.0817 0.0778 PP333 at 100 0.1195 0.1176 0.1245 0.1307 0.1231 0.0917 0.0906 0.1063 0.1120 0.1002 PP333 at 150 0.1107 0.1251 0.1241 0.1272 0.1218 0.1284 0.1169 0.1393 0.1425 0.1318 CCC at 1000 0.1253 0.1315 0.1327 0.1343 0.1310 0.0902 0.1190 0.0996 0.0981 0.1017 CCC at 2000 0.1263 0.1226 0.1295 0.1265 0.1262 0.0847 0.0970 0.0917 0.0837 0.0893 CCC at 3000 0.1095 0.1153 0.1189 0.1077 0.1129 0.1162 0.1306 0.1295 0.1365 0.1282 (b) 0.1210 0.1243 0.1265 0.1263 0.0911 0.0997 0.1009 0.1009 Third determination Control 0.1138 0.1210 0.1322 0.1316 0.1247 0.0602 0.0625 0.0580 0.0603 0.0603 PP333 at 50 0.1229 0.1265 0.1273 0.1289 0.1264 0.1094 0.0891 0.0692 0.0794 0.0868 PP333 at 100 0.1201 0.1229 0.1268 0.1350 0.1262 0.1157 0.0975 0.1199 0.1060 0.1098 PP333 at 150 0.1097 0.1105 0.1179 0.1088 0.1117 0.1622 0.1512 0.1482 0.1327 0.1486 CCC at 1000 0.1306 0.1246 0.1285 0.1291 0.1282 0.0819 0.1103 0.1021 0.1076 0.1005 CCC at 2000 0.1222 0.1305 0.1230 0.1307 0.1266 0.0724 0.1026 0.1120 0.1156 0.1007 CCC at 3000 0.1192 0.1187 0.1263 0.1094 0.1184 0.1382 0.1205 0.1257 0.1492 0.1334 (b) 0.1198 0.1221 0.1260 0.1248 0.1057 0.1048 0.1050 0.1073 95

0.1325 0.1300 0.1275 0.1250 First determination 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot (mg/g f.w.) 0.1225 0.1200 0.1175 0.1150 0.1125 0.1100 0.1400 Control PP333 at 50 Second determination PP333 at 100 PP333 at 150 CCC at 1000 CCC at 2000 CCC at 3000 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot (mg/g f.w.) 0.1350 0.1300 0.1250 0.1200 0.1150 0.1100 0.1050 0.1000 Control PP333 at 50 PP333 at 100 PP333 at 150 CCC at 1000 CCC at 2000 CCC at 3000 0.1400 0.1350 Third determination 0 g/pot 1 g/pot 2 g/pot 3 g/pot 0.1300 (mg/g f.w.) 0.1250 0.1200 0.1150 0.1100 0.1050 0.1000 Control PP333 at 50 PP333 at 100 PP333 at 150 CCC at 1000 CCC at 2000 CCC at 3000 Fig. 1: Effect of growth retardants, potassium sulphate and their interactions on total indoles content in Celosia cristata leaves during 2016 season. 96