Investigation of the factors affecting first flowering time of Tulipa gesneriana by path analysis

Abstract

Correlation coefficients have shown that first flowering time of Tulip was positively and significantly correlated with flower length and negatively and significantly correlated with leaf number. The path analysis has shown that just flower length had the positive significant direct effect to the first flowering time. These parameters may be useful as predictors of the best first flowering time. Path analysis has an important role in revealing the relationships between variables in multivariate analysis and calculating their direct and indirect relation shares with the predicted variable. In agricultural sciences, the direction and amount of the relationships between the characteristics studied in natural phenomena, as well as the calculation of the impact shares in the total relationship are very important in future predictions or finding the best yield. For this reason, estimation of first flowering time, which is an important feature in ornamental plant cultivation, or determining the factors affecting its shortening, will ensure that this feature is kept under control by the cultivator.