CHRYSANTHEMEUM CULTIVATION

Dendranthema grandiflora. Asteraceae/Compositeae

Chrysanthemum is an important flower crop grown all over the world. In India, the commercial cultivation of Chrysanthemum is done because of its good demand. Flowers are mainly used as cut flowers for party arrangements, religious offerings and garland making. It is an herbaceous perennial plant which attains the height of 50-150cm. It gives more yields when grown in greenhouse. Farming is commercially done in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Maharashtra.

Varieties and hybrids


Reagan White: The variety starts flowering after 103 days. The plant is 45cm tall. It has white color flowers having diameter of 8.43cm. It gives 54flowers/plant.

Reagan Emperor:
 Single Korean variety which mature in 103 days. The plant is 78cm tall and pink color flowers which has 8.15cm diameter. It gives 25flowers/plant. It matures in 30 days.

Yellow Charm: Belongs to Cinerarias category. The variety has 15cm plant height. It gives 485flowers/plant. It has shining yellow color flowers having 3.5cm in diameter. This variety doesn’t require training and pruning and doesn’t require support. It matures in 36 days.

Birbal Sahni: The variety gets mature in 121 days. The plant is 65cm tall. The plant has white color flowers which grow in bunch and having 4-8cm diameter. It gives an average yield of 13qtl/acre.

Baggi: The variety gets mature in 137 days. The plant is 64cm tall. The plant has white color flowers which grow in bunches and having 4-8cm diameter. It gives an average yield of 60qtl/acre.

Ratlaam Selection: The variety gets ready in 138 days. The plant is 51cm tall. The plant has yellowish white color flowers which are 8.1cm in diameter. It gives an average yield of 72qtl/acre.

Punjab Gold: Early maturing variety. The variety gets ready in 76 days. The plant is 23cm tall. The plant has red color flower buds which becomes attractive yellow in color when matures. The flowers are 5-30cm in diameter. The variety is suitable for growing in pots.

Ajay: Medium flower size variety which gets ready in 116 days. The plant has 55cm height and 79flowers per plant. It has shining yellow color flowers having 8.18cm diameter. The variety starts flowering after 37 days.

Mother Teresa: Medium size variety of Enimon category which starts flowering in 102 days. It has 38cm plant height which gives 150 flowers per plant. It has white color flowers which are cream or yellow in color from middle. The flowers have diameter of 5.5cm. It is a late maturing variety which starts blooming in December-January month. This variety doesn’t require training and pruning and doesn’t require support.

Other varieties: Kirti, Arka Swarna, Shanti, Y2K, Arka Ganga, Appu, Sadbhavana, Bindiya, MDU 1 (yellow colored flowers), Combaitore varieties such as CO 1 (yellow colored varieties) and CO 2 (purple colored flowers), Indira and Red Gold, Ravi Kiran, Akash, Yellow Start, Indira, Rakhee and Chandrakand are some more varieties which are used.

Climate

It can be grown in tropical and subtropical climatic conditions .However, the best temperature for growing chrysanthemum is 20-280C for day and 15-200C for night.

Soil

It requires well drained red loamy soil with pH of 6 to 7.

Propagation and planting

Commercial propagation is done through terminal cuttings (5-7 cm long) or suckers. Planting during June – July at 30 x 30 cm spacing on one side of ridges

Manures and fertilizers
Recommended dose -25t FYM and 125:120: 25 kg NPK/ha.
Basal application – half of N + entire P and K; top dressing – half of N applied 30 days after planting.

Pinching and Desuckering

Remove the side suckers periodically and pinching is done 4 weeks after planting to induce lateral branches.

Weed Management

2-3 hand weedings are required to keep the field weed free and for the proper growth of plant. First weeding is done after 4 weeks of planting.

Irrigation

Frequency of irrigation will depend upon growth stage, weather and soil conditions. Chrysanthemum requires proper drainage system in soil. Mainly irrigation is given twice a week in first month and then subsequent irrigations are given at weekly intervals.

Harvesting and Yield

Flowering mainly starts after 5-6 months of planting. Mainly harvesting of flowers is done in October-November month. Harvesting is usually done of fully opened flowers in the morning time. Harvested flowers are then packed in bamboo baskets for transportation and sale purpose. It gives an average yield of 15-50qtl flowers/acre.

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