chamanti-flower cultivation

CHRYSANTHEMUM (Chrysanthemums Spp.)

Chrysanthemums are grown for their showy fragrant flowers. It is cultivated on a limited area in our State and mainly concentrated in the neighboring areas of big cities like Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam etc. this is also cultivated on a large scale in sandy tracts of Coastal Andhra. A sizeable area is also developed near Tirupati in Chittoor district. Soils  Well drained loamy soils are best suited for this crop. However it is sands in the Coastal areas. Varieties All the cultivated types can be broadly classified into three groups, (1) The small flower type known as Nakshatra Chamanti or Kasturi Chamamnti, (2) Medium flower types or Patnam Chamanti and (3) Large flower types which are mostly used for flower decorations and for cut flowers. Among these three types, there are variations in color ranging between yellow to red with different shades of admixture Preparation of Land The land is ploughed 3 to 4 times in March - April and 25 - 30 t/ha of farmyard manure applied in the last ploughing and the land is made into beds of convenient size. It is suggested that 4 ft wide beds are made so that while picking there will not be trampling and damage to plants. 60 kg of P2O5 /ha in the shape of Superphospate can also be incorporated in the last ploughing. Propagation and Planning This is usually raised from suckers after the harvest of main crop in Febuary - March.It can also be raised by planting a nursery . Nursery raised in 8 - 10 cents will be sufficient for planting a hectare. The best time of planting is June-July. Some times, it is planted in Febuary-March also. Normally nursery would be planted for multiplication in February-March. The slips should be planted at a spacing of 90 cm either way after irrigating the field. One hectare will require about one lakh slips. While separating slips for planting, they should be lifted with care with their roots intact. A life irrigation should be given on the third day. After Cultivation Weeding 2-3 times and earthing up is to be done after top dressing . The crop is generally irrigated once in a week depending upon the receipt of rain. About 15-20 irrigations are given during a crop period of eight months. Manures and Fertilizers This crop requires a high dose of organic manure which is applied as basal dressing in the form of FYM and oil cakes. A fertilizer dose of 60:60:40 kg/ha of N:P:K is to be applied in 2 or 3 split doses. The entire Phosphate is to be applied as basal dose in the last ploughing. One or two ratoon crops are also taken up after the harvest of the first crop. The stems of the plants will be cut close to the ground and the crop is earthed up with a liberal dose of FYM and superphosphate. The slips are then allowed to grow for the ratoon. This crop may give less yield and the flowers size also may be reduced. It is also not economical to take more than two ratoons. Harvest and Yield The harvesting of the crop commences from December-January and lasts upto February-March depending upon the age of the plant(i.e Planting time). A total of 15 pickings can be had during the cropping season. Each picking would give about 40-50 thousand flowers per acre, ie 6 to 7.5 lakhs flowers weighing about 600-700 kg valued @ Rs. 10 to 15/- per kg giving a gross income of Rs. 6000/- to 7000/- per acre annually. The yield will be reduced by about one fourth of this in the ratoon crop.