UNIT 1- CHAPTER - 2 -CHRYSANTHEMUM - NOTES

UNIT 1

CHAPTER - 2

CHRYSANTHEMUM

Scientific name: Dendranthema grandiflora Tzeuleu
Family: Asteraceae

Chrysanthemum is a commercially grown flower crop that was cultivated long ago.  Known as the Queen of the East and the Autumn Queen, this flower is of commercial importance as a cut flower and potted plant in the global market.

They are available in a variety of attractive colors, shapes and sizes. They are very popular with florists and gardeners as they are relatively easy to grow and can be grown all year round.  Native of these beautiful flowers is China. Chrysanthemum derives its name from two Greek words “chrysos”= Golden and “anthos” = flower, which means “golden flower”. As the name suggests, the earliest varieties of these species are in yellow color. However, due to the use of natural and artificial breeding methods, today there are over 3,000 chrysanthemum species.

USES OF CHRYSANTHEMUM

1.                   Small flowered cultivars are ideal for garland making and hair decoration.

2.                   Large flowers can be used for decoration, bouquet making and flower arrangement.

3.                   Tall varieties can be used for garden background and dwarf varieties can be used for making flower beds and for pot growing.

4.                   Long stemmed flowers are used as cut flowers.

5.                   Important source of Pyrethrum, an important insecticide.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CHRYSANTHEMUM PLANT

·                     These are long-lived plants, or perennials.

·                     Stems are partly woody and erect.

·                     Commonly it grows up to a height of up to 1 meter. Dwarf varieties are also there.

·                     The leaves are thick and alternate.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CHRYSANTHEMUM FLOWERS

Ø    The inflorescence consists of many flower heads.

Ø    Each flower head has two types of florets - disc florets and ray florets.

Ø    The small florets which are present at the centre of the bloom are called disc florets.

Ø    The outer broad florets are called ray florets.

Ø    The chrysanthemum bloom type depends mainly on the relative number of two kinds of florets, their shapes and directions of growth.

CULTIVARS

Due to the large scale breeding, a wide range of cultivars are available in chrysanthemum. Chrysanthemum cultivars are classified as follows.

Classification based on flower type

1. Incurved: These type of cultivars have the shape of a perfect ball. Eg: Snowball and Chandrama

2. Reflexed: Small flowers. Outer florets ie. ray florets bent backward and downward.  Central disc florets may not be visible Eg: Star of India, Kasturba Gandhi

3. Incurving:- Ray florets are incurved upward in indefinite manner. Eg: Classic Beauty, Dr. S. Mukherjee

4. Anemone:-  Breeds are called anemone, which has a horn-like middle and single-bladed ones. Eg: Cloud Bank, Red Admiral

5. Pompon:- These cultivars have very small flowers. They are short, broad and uniformly arranged to give bloom in compact hemispherical shape. Eg: Apsara, Birbal Sahni

6. Singles:- They are flowers having five petals. Eg:  John Helen, Surya

7. Spiders:- Florets are long and tubular. The tips of the florets are coiled and hooked at the tip.   Eg: Geetanjali, Ms. Universe.

8. Spoon:- Blooms are having visible disc. The ray florets are tubular with spatula like open tips. Eg : Pink cascade, Pushpahans

9. Koreans:- Varieties having small flowers with clear center and strap-like ray florets are known as Koreans. They may be single or double flowers.

10. Ryonantis: The flowers have feather like petals.

Classification based on growth pattern

1.                  Standards: These are species that can be trained in such a way that a single stem alone is retained from which a single large flower is produced. Only one large flower can be grown by deshooting their lateral branches.

            Eg: White Giant with white flowers, Super Giant with yellow flowers, Pink Champagne with Pink Flowers, Red Anne with Red Flowers, Bronze Princess Anne with Bronze Flowers , Purple Anne with Purple

2. Spray: In this type, numerous small to medium sized flowers are produced, therefore, two pinchings are required to encourage lateral growth.

Eg: Super white with white flowers, Sun beam with yellow flowers, Marble with pink flowers, Blue marble with blue flowers, Red galaxy with red flowers

3. Pot mums: 6 to 9 inches tall, they are small flowered and can be used for decoration in pots and gardens.

Eg: Mountain Snow with White Flowers, Star Gold with Yellow Flowers, Always Pink with Pink Flowers, Copper Hostess with Bronze flowers, Royal Purple with Purple flowers

Varieties released from Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore

            Keerthi, Pankaj, Rakhi, Ravi Kiran and Red Gold

CLIMATE AND GROWTH PERIOD

            Chrysanthemums are plants that grow in tropical and subtropical regions. Sunlight and temperature are two climatic factors that affect the flowering of chrysanthemums. Their ideal daytime temperatures are 20 to 25 degrees Celsius and the night time temperatures range from 15 to 20 degrees Celsius.

            Chrysanthemum require open field with good sunshine and are not fond of shade. This is a short day plant. Short days are ideal for flowering and for good growth. They do not blossom during the season having long days.

            The best time to plant chrysanthemum is June – July and September and October.They prefer 70 - 90 % Relative humidity. It can be successfully grown from sea level up to 1200 m.

SOIL

They grow well in well-drained red loam soils and well aerated sandy loam soils.   The roots of chrysanthemum are fibrous.  So, water logging at the base is harmful to the plant. Soil with moderate pH or slightly acidic soil is suitable for chrysanthemum cultivation.

 

METHODS OF PROPAGATION

            Chrysanthemum can be propagated by asexual methods and through seeds. Generally,  seed is used to develop variations of pure varieties.

The asexual propagation is by suckers that grow from the base of the plant or by terminal cuttings of a healthy stem. Suckers are usually used to make stock plants in nurseries. For commercial cultivation, 5 to 7 cm terminal cutting is used.

Preparation of stock plant using suckers

Ø    Suckers are separated from the mother plant and planted in nurseries in January.

Ø    Continuous pinching is essential for better branching and keeping the plant bushy. Pinching starts in April. Pinching should be done every month until June.

Ø    The cuttings available after the third pinching in June are used to make mother plants.

Ø    The leaves at the bottom of the cuttings should be removed.

Ø    The cuttings can be planted after immersing in the rooting hormone 1000ppm IBA. Along with this, a dip in any copper fungicide will help prevent fungal infection.

CULTIVATION PRACTICES

Land preparation:

Ø    The land should be well prepared for the chrysanthemum to grow well.

Ø    Plough two or three times before planting.

Ø    Farm yard manure should be applied as basal dose at the rate of 5 kg / m².

Planting:

            Best time of Planting is June -July and September- October.

Spacing:

            Planting should be done at a spacing of 30 X 30cm.

Fertilizer Application:

             125: 120: 25 Kg NPK / ha

Basal dressing:

FYM               -  5Kg/m²

Nitrogen          - 62.5 Kg/ha

Phosphorus      -120 Kg/ha

Potassium        - 25 Kg/ha

Top dressing- 30 DAP

Nitrogen  - 62.5 Kg/ha

Spray the leaves with micro nutrient spray of 0.25% zinc sulphate and 0.5% magnesium sulphate.

Irrigation:

Irrigate twice a week for the first month. Watering once a week is sufficient. Water logging at the base  is harmful to the roots.

Special Horticultural Practices:

1. Staking:

Ø    Staking is done to keep the plants vertical and to maintain the perfect shape of the flowers and plants.

Ø    Staking is not needed for all varieties.

Ø    A single stake may be sufficient for a single flowering plant.

Ø    For small flowering varieties, 5 to 8 stakes are given.

2. Pinching:

Ø    Pinching is defined as removing the tip of a plant 1.5cm to 3 cm long.

Ø    It is also known as stopping.

Ø    This is done using the thumb and index finger.

Ø    Pinching encourage lateral buds and help to produce flowers on all lateral branches.

Ø    Pinching can be done on suckers and terminal cuttings.

Ø    This should be done four weeks after planting.

3. Desuckering:

Ø    Desuckering is the removal of suckers at regular intervals.

Ø    It is essential to remove the suckers to keep the plants healthy. Otherwise plants will get exhausted.

4. Deshooting:

Ø    Deshooting is the process of removal of side shoots before they attain a size of 2.5 cm.

Ø    This should be done at regular intervals.

Ø    This is usually done on large flowered decorative varieties.

Ø    Deshooting is done to produce only one or up to three flowers from a single plant and to ensure the quality of the flowers.

5. Disbudding:

Disbudding is a special horticultural practice that helps to remove excess flower buds and to make the remaining buds into large-sized quality blooms.

 Method of disbudding to get three flowers from a single plant

1. The first pinching of the plant, planted in June should be done in August. Removing the apical bud and allowing only three lateral buds to grow.

2. Disbudding may begin in October.

3. Only the central flower bud is allowed to grow among the side shoots retained. The remaining flower buds and lateral stems are cut.

Thus we can get the three largest flowers of high quality.

            Method of disbudding from a single plant to get a single flower

            No need to pinch for this. Deshooting is done by retaining only the main stems and cutting off the lateral stems. By doing this, the single flower in the central shoot will only grow and we will get a big flower from this plant.

            Method of disbudding on spray type of chrysanthemums

            This include removing the apex (terminal bud) and promoting lateral buds (axillary buds). It also produces many small flowers.

6. Training

            Training is the process of transforming plants into attractive shapes with proper pinching and cutting of branches.

Different types of training in Chrysanthemum

1. Bush Form: -

            This is the way it is converted into a bush. It uses the method of making small flowers.

2. Cascade: -

            This method is used to convert plants into flowers in the form of a waterfall. This is a Japanese art form. Anemone and Korean varieties are best suited for this purpose.

3. Coniform: -

            This is the practice of converting plants into tubular or conical shapes with special care.

4. Fan Form: -

            This is the way plants are moulded into fan shapes.

5. Pot Mums: -

            This is a method for growing plants tall in pots. The lowerside of the plant is kept bare, without leaves and branches.

6. Sen Rin Tsukari: -

            This is also a Japanese technique of training Chrysanthemum. The plant is trained to dome shape with blooms at equal distance in concentric rings and geometrical fashion. In some varieties, the disc florets are completely concealed, while in others the disc florets are completely exposed. These are the giants of the chrysanthemum world. A single plant can produce 200 to 300 flowers. The plants are 1.5 to 2 meters high and 2 meters in diameter.

7. Standard: -

            Large-flowered varieties are used for this purpose.

7. Weeding:

            Weeding should be done 8 to 10 times based on the severity of weed growth.

Growth Hormones or Plant Growth Regulators:

            Spraying 50 ppm gibberelic acid after 30, 45 and 60 days after planting yields higher.

Plant Protection:

Pests

Insect pests - Aphids, Hairy caterpillars, Thrips  

Control: Spray Acetamiprid @ 0.3 g/l or Indoxacarb @ 1 ml/l

Non- insect pests - Red Spider Mites, Nematodes

Control: Clean cultivation along with spray of dicofol 0.05% can control red spider mites. Nematodes can be controlled by neem cake application @ 1 ton/ha.

Diseases

Fungal diseases:         Fusarium wilt, rust, leaf spot.

Ø    Soil drenching of Carbendazim can control wilt disease in chrysanthemum.

Ø    For controlling the rust disease, remove all affected leaves and spray Captan (0.15%).

Ø    Leaf spot diseases can be controlled by spraying Boudreaux mixture or Bavistin 0.05%

Bacterial diseases       : Crown gall, bacterial blight 

Ø    For controlling Bacterial disease, plant disease free planting materials or planting material treated with Streptomycin. 

Ø    For control of crown gall disease destroy the infected plants.

 

Viral diseases             : Chrysanthemum stunt, Chrysanthemum mosaic

Ø    For controlling the viral diseases the infected plants should be cut and removed.

Ø    Control the vectors like aphids and thrips.

Harvesting

Harvesting time - Harvesting index

Ø    Fully opened flowers are harvested in Chrysanthemum.

Ø    It is usually harvested early in the morning.

Ø    Crop rotation is done in southern states in India. Ratoon crops will remain in the field for up to ten months. (Six months as plant crop and four months as ratoon crop)

Ø    The crop starts yielding from the third month onwards.

Ø    Harvesting can be done every four days.

Harvesting indices

Standard type- Fully opened flowers. The outer ray florets must be fully opened, and the disc florets must be stretched out. At this stage, the standard varieties are harvested.

Spray type-Fully opened, flowers but before anthesis.

Pot mums - Semi opened flowers

YIELD

Main crop - 9 to 10 t/ha

Ratoon crop - 4 and 5 t/ha

PROCESSING AND STORAGE OF FLOWERS

            Immediately after harvesting the stem should be cut off 10 cm from the base and then dipped in acidifying solution.

Grading:

Chrysanthemum flowers are graded based on the length of the stalk, the shape of the flowers or the appearances, the color of the flowers, and freshness.

Standard type: Grades are Blue, Green, and Red

 Blue grade -Flowers with a diameter of 140 mm and a stalk length of 76 cm.

Red grade -Flowers with a diameter of 120 mm and a stalk length of 76 cm.

Green grade -Flowers with a diameter of 102 mm  and a stalk length of 61 cm.

Spray type: Grades are Gold, Silver and Bronze

Gold grade - 10 stalks on one sleeve, six or more opened flowers, with some flowers yet to open.

Silver grade -15 stalks on a single sleeve, 4 to 6 opened flowers and some flowers yet to open.

Bronze Grade -20 stalks in one sleeve and 3 opened flowers wit some flowers yet to open.

Bunching:

Ø    Bunching up 10 to 12 flowers are done in standard varieties.

Ø    When packing, tissue paper will be placed between them so as not to overlap the petals.

Ø     The spray chrysanthemum is made into bundles of weight 200 to 300 g for each bunch.

Packing:

The flowers are wrapped in plastic sleeves and packed in a fiber board box.

Storage:

If chrysanthemum flowers are kept at low temperature, their post-harvest life may be extended. The chrysanthemum flowers can be kept intact for three to four weeks at 0.5 °C. They are kept intact for two weeks when kept at 2 to 3⁰ C.

Rehydration:

Rehydration is  necessary for flowers that have been transported to a distant location and stored for longer periods. They are rehydrated to prevent dehydration during storage.

Method of rehydration

Ø    Remove bundles or bunches of chrysanthemum from the fiber box.

Ø    Cut their stem ends 2.5 cm from the base.

Ø    Put them in 40 °C hot water containing 75 ppm citric acid and 0.1% Tween 20.

Ø    Keep them in a bright room. In about two hours, the turgidity of the flowers is recovered.

Ø    Afterwards, place them in a cool room putting in a 100 ppm Physan or 5 to 10 ppm solution of sodium hydroxide.

Ways to Increase Vase Life:

Ø    1.5% sucrose and 200 ppm hydroxyquinoline citrate are used as solvents to enhance vase life.