Farm And Garden.

Flowers, Fruits & Vegetables farm. 

Floriculture or flower farming is the study of growing and marketing flowers and foliage plants. Floriculture includes cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for direct sale or for use as raw materials in cosmetic and perfume industry and in the pharmaceutical sector. It also includes production of planting materials through seeds, cuttings, budding and grafting. In simpler terms floriculture can be defined as the art and knowledge of growing flowers to perfection. The persons associated with this field are called floriculturists.

Worldwide more than 140 countries are involved in commercial Floriculture. The leading flower producing country in the world is Netherlands and Germany is the biggest importer of flowers. Countries involved in the import of flowers are Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy and Japan while those involved in export are Colombia, Israel, Spain and Kenya. USA and Japan continue to be the highest consumers.

Floriculture in India... 

Floriculture is an age old farming activity in India having immense potential for generating gainful self-employment among small and marginal farmers. In the recent years it has emerged as a profitable agri-business in India and worldwide as improved standards of living and growing consciousness among the citizens across the globe to live in environment friendly atmosphere has led to an increase in the demand of floriculture products in the developed as well as in the developing countries worldwide. The production and trade of floriculture has increased consistently over the last 10 years. In India, Floriculture industry comprises flower trade, production of nursery plants and potted plants, seed and bulb production, micro propagation and extraction of essential oils. The country has exported 15,695.31 MT of floriculture products to the world for the worth of Rs. 575.98 Crores/77.84 USD Millions in 2020-21.

The Government of India identified floriculture as a sunrise industry and accorded it 100 percent export oriented status. Floriculture products mainly consist of cut flowers, pot plants, cut foliage, seeds bulbs, tubers, rooted cuttings and dried flowers or leaves. The important floricultural crops in the international cut flower trade are rose, carnation, chrysanthemum, gerbera, gladiolus, orchids, anthurium, tulip and lilies. Floriculture crops like gerberas, carnation, etc. are grown in green houses. The open field crops are chrysanthemum, roses, gaillardia, lily marygold, aster, tuberose etc.

According to Horticulture Crops for 2018-19 statistics, the total area under flower crops was 303 thousand hectares. Total area under floriculture in India is second largest in the world and only next to China. Production of flowers was estimated to be 2910 thousand MT of which loose flowers accounted to 2263 thousand MT and cut flowers to 647 thousand MT. Fresh and Dried cut flowers dominate floriculture exports from India.

Among states, in terms of production, Karnataka stands firts with a total of 253.24 thousand tonnes. In terms of area, Kerala is the leader in floriculture with about 53.26 thousand hectares under floriculture cultivation. Other major flower growing states are Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in the South, West Bengal in the East, Maharashtra in the West and Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana in the North.

The expert committee set up by Govt. of India for promotion of export oriented floriculture units has identified Bangalore, Pune, New Delhi and Hyderabad as the major areas suitable for such activity especially for cut flowers. Of the four zones identified as potential centers for flower production namely Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and New Delhi, the area around Bangalore and Pune have got the advantage of ideal climatic conditions where the temperature ranges between 15 to 30ºC. In view of this, the units established in these locations do not require either cooling or heating system. As a result maximum number of units has been established in these locations. There are more than 300 export oriented units in India. APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) is the registering authority for such units.

Green House Technology for Flower Production.. 

In present scenario of increasing demand for cut flowers protected cultivation in green houses is the best alternative for using land and other resources more efficiently. In protected environment suitable environmental conditions for optimum plant growth are provided which ultimately provide quality products. Green House is made up of glass or plastic film, which allows the solar radiations to pass through but traps the thermal radiations emitted by plants inside and thereby provide favourable climatic conditions for plant growth. It is also used for controlling temperature, humidity and light intensity inside. On the basis of basic material used, building cost and technology used, green houses can be of three types-

Low-cost greenhouse: The low-cost green house is made of polythene sheet of 700 gauge supported on bamboos with twines and nails. Its size depends on the purpose of its utilization and availability of space. The temperature within greenhouse increases by 6-100C more than outside.

Medium-cost greenhouse: With a slightly higher cost greenhouse can be framed with GI pipe of 15 mm bore. This greenhouse has a covering of UV -stabilized polythene of 800 gauge. The exhaust fans are used for ventilation which are thermostatically controlled. Cooling pad is used for humidifying the air entering the chamber. The greenhouse frame and glazing material have a life span of about 20 years and 2 years respectively.

Hi-tech greenhouse: In this type of green house the temperature, humidity and light are automatically controlled according to specific plant needs. These are indicated through sensor or signal-receiver. Sensor measures the variables, compare the measurement to a standard value and finally recommend to run the corresponding device. Temperature control system consists of temperature sensor heating/cooling mechanism and thermostat operated fan. Similarly, relative humidity is sensed through optical tagging devices. Boiler operation, irrigation and misting systems are operated under pressure sensing system. This modern structure is highly expensive, requiring qualified operators, maintenance, care and precautions. However, these provide best conditions for export quality cut flowers and are presently used by large number of export units.

Floriculture has emerged as an important agribusiness, providing employment opportunities and entrepreneurship in both urban and rural areas. National Horticulture Board helps one to establish a flower business. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority helps entrepreneurs with cold storage facilities and freight subsidies. It has been found that Commercial Floriculture has higher potential per unit area than most of the field crops and therefore a lucrative business. During the last decade there has been a thrust on export of cut flowers. The export surplus has found its way into the local market influencing people in cities to purchase and use flowers in their daily lives. Floriculture thus, offers a great opportunity to farmers in terms of income generation and empowerment. Small and marginal farmers may also use every inch of their land for raising the flower and foliage crops. Floriculture also offers careers in production, marketing, export and research. One can find employment in the floriculture industry as a farm manager, plantation expert, supervisor or project coordinator. Besides, one can work as consultant or landscape architect with proper training. In addition, floriculture also provides career opportunities in service sector which include such jobs as floral designers, landscape designers, landscape architects and horticultural therapists. Research and teaching are some other avenues of employment in the field.

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Plants require light, water, oxygen, minerals and other nutrients for their growth and development. Apart from these external requirements, plants also depend on certain organic compounds to signal, regulate and control the growth of plants. These are collectively called Plant Growth Regulators or Plant Growth Hormones.

There are different types of Plant Growth Regulators, which are also referred to as phytohormones. Let’s learn about them in more detail below.

Table of Contents

• Plant Growth
• Factors
• Plant Growth Regulators
• Characteristics
• Types

Plant Growth and Development – An Introduction

Plant growth regulators are the chemical substances which govern all the factors of development and growth within plants. Some other names used to refer to it are phytohormones and plant growth hormones.

Phytohormones are organic compounds which are either synthesized in laboratories or produced naturally within the plants.  They profoundly control and modify the physiological processes like the growth, development, and movement of plants.

Based on their actions, plant growth regulators are broadly classified into two major groups:

• Plant growth promoters

• Plant growth inhibitors.

Auxins, Gibberellins, and Cytokinins are grouped into Plant growth promoters while Abscisic acid and Ethylene are grouped into Plant growth inhibitors.

Ethylene can be grouped either into the promoters or into the plant inhibitors.

Let us have a detailed look on the plant growth and development before studying plant hormones or plant growth regulators.

Types of Plant Growth

Primary and Secondary Growth

The meristematic cells present at the root and shoot apices divide mitotically and increase the length of the plant body. This is known as primary growth. Secondary growth is referred to as the increase in the diameter of the plant body by the division of the secondary meristem.

Unlimited Growth

When the plant constantly grows from the germination stage to death, it is called unlimited growth.

Limited Growth

In this stage, the plant parts stop growing after attaining a certain size.

Vegetative Growth

It involves the production of stem, leaves, and branches, except the flowers.

Reproductive Growth

Flowering occurs at this type of growth stage.

FACTORS AFFECTING PLANT GROWTH. 

There are four major factors that affect the growth of the plants. They are:

Sunlight. 

Plants are autotrophs. They require light for manufacturing their food. Limited light or the absence of it greatly affects the growth of the plant. The intensity of light, quality of light, and light duration influence the movement of stomata, chlorophyll synthesis, photosynthesis, and various other physiological factors. Light also encourages flowering and fruiting. During winters when the days are short, the growth of the plants is retarded.

Water. 

Plants cannot survive without water. Around 90% of the plant body comprises water. Plants become stressed in the absence of water and die. Water present in the soil is absorbed by the plant, which absorbs and transports the nutrients along with it. Water keeps the plant hydrated.

Temperature. 

Plant growth is greatly influenced by temperature. High temperatures speed up transpiration, photosynthesis, and germination processes. Low temperatures, however, slow down the growth of the plants.

Nutrients. 

Just like human beings, plants require proper nourishment for their growth and development. Soil nutrients are divided into macronutrients and micronutrients. Nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, and phosphorus are the macronutrients required by the plants. The micronutrients include iron, copper, etc. Deficiency of these nutrients in plants makes them prone to several diseases. Even if a single nutrient is lacking, it results in stunted growth of the plant.

Fertilizer.

What is Fertilizer and Why Do I Need It?

Plants need nutrients to grow. The major nutrients they need are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. They also need magnesium, sulfur and calcium. Without all of these nutrients, plants may grow slowly or fail to grow at all.

Plants absorb the nutrients they need from the soil. Over time, the soil will have less nutrients than before. Gardeners add fertilizer to the soil to replenish the soil with the nutrients plants need. A soil test will show you what nutrients your soil needs.

What Is NPK and Why Is It Important?

Most fertilizers or plant foods list the NPK fertilizer ratio on the bag. NPK stands for nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, the three major macronutrients plants need. Nitrogen is mostly responsible for plant leaf growth; phosphorous is needed for the growth of plant roots, fruits and flowers; potassium is responsible for the plant's overall functioning. At different times in the plant's growth cycle, it may need more of one macronutrient than another.

When looking at NPK fertilizer ratios, it may be listed as 6-3-3. This means that it has six parts nitrogen, three parts phosphorous and three parts potassium. Often the NPK ratio for vegetables like corn and lawns have higher percentages of nitrogen. Other NPK fertilizer ratios may be listed as 10-10-10. This mean the fertilizer has equal parts nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. These are sometimes called balanced fertilizers.

What Is the Best NPK Fertilizer Ratio for My Plants?

To determine the best NPK fertilizer ratio for your plants, start with a soil test. This will help you determine what macronutrients are in your soil and what nutrients should be added. For instance, many lawns and gardens have plenty of phosphorous, but may need more nitrogen. If that is the case with your garden, look for fertilizer ratios where the first number, nitrogen, is higher than the middle number, phosphorous. When adding fertilizer to your soil, you should add nutrients that are lacking in the soil. Remember, plants take the nutrients they need from the soil.

Expert Advice

Q. Twice this year friends have come to me and said, "My tomatoes are all vines and no fruit." I asked what they were fertilizing with (thinking they were applying too much nitrogen), and to my surprise both replied: "10-10-10". I said, "That'll do it." What I don't know is why anyone would think 10-10-10 is fine for their garden—or how to help them fix the problem they've caused. Maybe by next year the crappy chemical fertilizer will be flushed out by rain and winter?,

---Michael in Albemarle, NC

A. I have mixed feelings about you, Michael. On one hand, you're my new favorite listener for knowing how bogus so-called "balanced" fertilizers like 10-10-10 are. On the other hand, if more people DID know things like that I'd have to go out and find a real job.

Seriously, you're absolutely correct: 10% nitrogen is only appropriate for non-flowering plants like sweet corn and lawns; it's way too much 'N' for plants that flower, like tomatoes,squash, beans,peppers, melons, eggplant, and—oh yeah, flowers! Bogus 'even number' fertilizers like 10-10-10 and 20-20-20 are always composed of concentrated chemical salts; and the super-fast growth they cause makes plants extremely attractive to pests and diseases. And those salts—originally designed to be used as high explosives—ruin the soil, and kill the soil life that keeps plants naturally healthy. And finally, despite their arithmetic rhythm, fertilizer ratios like 10-10-10 are also unbalanced. No plant uses those three nutrients in equal amounts.

A little background: The three numbers (commonly referred to as "N-P-K") that appear on the label of every packaged fertilizer represent the three main plant nutrients: Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (which is sometimes called 'Potash'). Studies have found that the ideal NPK fertilizer ratio of those nutrients for flowering plants is 3-1-2. (That's 3% Nitrogen, 1% phosphorus & 2% potassium.) So look for that ratio on the label of packaged fertilizers; anything close to a 3-1-2, a 6-2-4 or a 9-3-6 should be ideal. (Beware higher numbers—that's the realm of chemical salts.)

My advice to folks like Michael's friends is to water on the heavy side to wash those salts out of the soil as quickly as possible, feed with compost alone for the rest of the season, and then move to organic fertilizers and/or compost in the future and sin no more!

Q. I've been growing heirloom tomatoes for a few years with reasonable success. But I would like to know how to build on that success. I understand that some fertilizers promote root growth, some promote leaves, and some encourage flowering. I have fish emulsion and a seaweed solution. Which should I use and when to maximize my tomato yield this year?

---Nina in Central NJ

I'm curious about the difference between bone meal and blood meal. Would I use either for new plantings?

---Ray from Front Royal, VA

A.Nitrogen—the first number of an NPK rating—grows big plants with lots of leaves. But too much nitrogen, especially combined with a lack of other nutrients, will inhibit flowering and fruiting. The plants that thrive with this nutrient are the non-flowering grasses and grains (i. e. lawns and sweet corn). Blood meal is a high nitrogen fertilizer (it rates a 12-2-0; a very high number for a natural product), as are fish meal (and fish emulsion), horse and poultry manure and corn gluten meal (which also prevents seed germination, making it the only natural springtime weed and feed for lawns).

Phosphorus—the middle number—is best known as the nutrient that produces more flowers and fruits, but it's also essential to strong root growth early in the season. Bone meal (1-11-0) is the organic source that becomes available the fastest. Many growers prefer rock phosphate or colloidal rock phosphate, which release the nutrient slowly, and for a long time after application—three to five years. But that slowness means you should try and apply rock phosphates the season BEFORE you want your blooms boosted, to give it time to get ready to work.

Potassium—the third number—helps plants process all nutrients more efficiently, improves the quality of fruits, and helps plants resist stress. The best single-ingredient source is green sand. Also known as glauconite, this mined mineral formed in prehistoric oceans also contains lots of important trace elements and minerals. It releases its nutrients the slowest of all—over the course of a decade; so, like the rock phosphates, always try to spread green sand in the fall in preparation for the following season.

But it's important to remember that all fertilizers—chemical and organic —rely on soil life to make their nutrients available to plants, and that high levels of organic matter in your soil are vital to the healthy growth of all plants. So all fertilization plans should begin with an inch of high-quality compost applied to the soil (preferably on top as opposed to tilled in). Then as the season progresses, you can give your plants a little boost by adding more compost or using a well-balanced organic fertilizer (remember, the NPK ratio you want to come close to achieving is 3-1-2).

I like to use a liquid fish and seaweed mix for that boost, as these products provide a nice balance of the basic nutrients, and lots of essential trace elements from the seaweed component. Just pour some into a watering can, dilute it as directed and water it into the soil around the root zone. If you prefer granular fertilizers, spread the material evenly over the soil beginning about six inches away from the plant stem and then cover it with some soil or compost to help it get to the plants faste