2. Flower
“The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is an
example of the eternal seductiveness of life.”
- Jean Giraudoux
• From birth to death, man is surrounded by the flowers
• Mark of civilization
• Ancient Egyptians: First civilization to start
flower arrangement and decoration
• Wall carvings dating back to 2,500 BCE show
depictions of artfully placed cut flowers in vases
3. Flower
• Father of floriculture: Mario
• World scenario: US$ 43.2 Billion (2018 valuation)
• Netherlands: 44% of global flower supply
• Nepali floriculture: 0.05% of total GDP (FAN, 2016)
4. Flower:
• Reproductive structure
• Biological function: assist in pollination by attraction
• Evolved during late Cretaceous Period, about 125-
100 million years ago.
• Flowering plants co- evolved with pollinating
insects like honey bee
5. Flowers as the source of creativity..
“I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er
vales and hills, when all at once I saw a crowd, a host,
of golden daffodils; beside the lake beneath the trees,
fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”
- William Wordsworth
6. Rose
Long history
Symbols of love, beauty, purity, friendship
35 million years old (Fossil evidence)
Feb. 7, Rose day marks the beginning of Valentine
week
7. Rose
Woody perennial shrub
Majority of the species native to Asia
Class: Magnoliopsida,
Order: Rosales,
Genus: Rosa L.
Genus Rosa : 150 species
8. Why does red rose symbolize love?
Greek mythology
Aphrodite (goddess)
Adonis (Hunter)
Zeus (King)
10. Introduction:
Grows well in mild temperature (15 - 27 °C)
Plenty of sunlight
Medium loamy soil rich in organic matter
Well drained
pH: 5.5-6.5.
Demand in Nepal: 7000 – 9000 sticks per day,
increasing
Area of Rose cultivation: 109 Ropani (FAN, 2014-15)
Popular colors: Red, Yellow, Pink and White
11. Greenhouse for commercial
production:
UV protected plastic sheets
Well ventilated
Drip system, cooling fan, heating pipeline, insect net
Sanitation measures at entry to avoid microbes
Maintain temp, light intensity and humidity
Temp: 20-21°C on cloudy days and 24-28°C on sunny
days
Humidity: 50 – 60%
12. Bed preparation:
Ploughing
Weeding
Planting bed: 1 m wide
Bed raised: 30 m
Adding organic matter
1% formalin fumigation
Cover surface with plastic (24 hrs.)
Remove plastic and let formalin escape (10 hrs.)
Properly set up drip irrigation
13. Planting:
Choose healthy planting material
Plant material with 3 – 4 buds are good (1 yr old)
Use insecticide and fungicide
30 cm * 40 cm (6 plants/sq. m)
Ideal planting season (Nepal) : Sept – Oct
14. Irrigation
Drip irrigation is best for greenhouse (commercial)
Water immediately after plantation
Desired pH of water: 7 (neutral)
Desired EC : 0.2 or 0.7 dS m per second
Fertigration is preferred
Mulching reduces evaporation loss
15. Pruning
Most imp cultural activity in Rose
Generally done in late winter
In commercial scale more often
First pruning: 3 weeks from plantation (floral bud
observed)
Top 10 cm of lead shoot removed (others too)
Retain: 6-8 canes (young) & 2-4 canes (old)
Disinfect secateurs / pruning tool with alcohol / spirit
Also stem bending is practiced (to reduce loss)
16. Nutrition Management
Major: N, P, K, Ca, Mg
Minor: Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn
Fertigration: 200-250 ppm N & 150- 160 ppm K
Micronutrients as per the requirement
Under open field: 6-8 Kg well rotten manure/ bush
N: P : K = 120: 60: 40 (i.e. 60 gm/ plant)
10 gm NPK mixture/ plant every 6 weeks
17. Other cultural activities
Stacking with strings if the stems are tall
Removal of buds, sprout (on weekly basis)
Weeding (daily basis)
18. Propagation:
T- budding
- Incision: horizontal- 2 cm & Vertical- 2.5 cm
- T-shaped
- Fresh bud fitted with cambium of stem
- Use budding tape
- 2-3 weeks: bud sprouting
Cutting, Grafting, Patch budding, Layering
Propagation by seeds, tissue culture
19. Important pests:
Mites : Tetranachyus species, tiny, use hand lens
: Most eco loss in Nepal
: Stipple (dots)/ bleach, dry, leaf fall
: underside of leaves mostly
: Middle and top part
: Prefer dry & dusty condition
20. Pests
Aphids: Genus Macrosiphum rosae (in Nepal)
: soft tissues, buds, growing shoots
: infest middle & top part of plant
: active -> Mar-May / Aug-Sept
Thrips: Attacks rose flower (makes brown)
: Tiny black, yellow thrips
: Thrips madronii (Genus)
: active during dry months
22. Important diseases
Powdery mildew: Caused by Sphaerotheca pannosa
var. rosea
: grayish-white powdery substance on the surface of
young leaves, shoots and buds
: Infected leaves distorted, fall, bud fail to open
: Occur at mild temp (day- low humidity, night- high
humidity)
24. Diseases:
Downy mildew: caused by Preonospora sparsa
: appears on parts above ground
: Leaves & canes blight
: Purple/ Brown leaf spots
: Yellowing of leaves
: square leaves, leaf shading (leafless)
: Early symptoms are similar to nutrient deficiency
26. Diseases
Botrytis: caused by Botrytis cinerea (grey mold)
: Grey, brown fuzzy growth on flowers and bud
: Bud fails to open
: Severe when temp is mild and RH is high
: Canes have sunken, discolored areas
: Light colored spots in petals expand as irregular
patches
28. Diseases:
Black spot: caused by Diplocarpon rosae
: Seen usually in spring and summer (high temp)
: Circular black spots in leaves surrounded by yellow
area (Leaf fall)
: Infected canes have red blotches
: Stunted growth and low quality flowers
30. Solution to Pests and diseases:
Protective, Curative and Eradicative approach for pests
Surveillance on weekly basis
Insect net
Top ventilation
Mites: sufficient overhead irrigation, insecticidal oils
and neem oils
Aphids: systemic pesticides, bio control (natural
enemies - lady bird beetle), restricting movements
with sticky barriers
31. Solutions:
Thrips: remove infested flowers, weeding to avoid
host plants, use insecticide before it enters buds
Powdery Mildew: Resistant varieties, day- high
humidity & Night – Low humidity, destroy and dispose
infected parts, Fungicide
Downey mildew: Good ventilation, maintain RH,
sanitation, fungicides (last option)
Botrytis: Good ventilation, do not wet leaves during
irrigation (only the soil zone), systemic fungicides
32. Solutions:
Black Spot
:Use resistant varieties
: Keep the rose greenhouse very clean
: Remove and destroy diseased canes
: Keep the leaves dry
: Fungicide spray (last line of defense)
34. Remaining topics (next session):
Varieties of Roses
Evolution of modern roses
Other pest/ diseases and solutions
Harvest
Post- Harvest
Transport
Products of rose (Applications/ uses)
Leftovers!
36. Varieties of roses:
Floribundas and Polyanthas
: Many blooms per stem, shrub rose
Hybrid tea
: Most popular, long stem with single flower
Grandifloras
: Cross between hybrid tea and floribunda
: Masses of large flowers
39. Varieties:
Shrub roses
: Catch all class of cultivars not belonging to old
garden roses or modern roses.
Miniature roses
: Small size, excellent for containers
41. Evolution of modern roses
Number of Chromosomes : n=7
Ploidy level= 2n to 8n
H.T. Rose: First variety- “La France” (Guillot, 1867)
R. chinensis * R. gigentea = Tea rose
R. chinensis * R. centifolia/ gallica = Hybrid Perpetuals
Then,
Tea rose * Hybrid Perpetuals = Hybrid Tea rose
44. Story of scent in modern roses:
Phenolic methyl ether 3,5-dimethoxytoluene
(DMT): major scent compound of many modern
rose varieties (characteristic “tea scent”)
Among wild roses, phenolic methyl ether (PME)
biosynthesis is restricted to Chinese rose species
Progenitors of modern roses included both
European and Chinese species, so this trait was
transmitted to their hybrid progeny.
45. Scent..
The last steps of the biosynthetic pathways
leading to DMT involve two methylation reactions
catalyzed by: orcinol O- methyltransferases
(OOMT) 1 and 2
Chinese roses (only) possess both the OOMT2 and
the OOMT1 genes, among wild roses
Chinese-rose-specific OOMT1 genes most
probably evolved from an OOMT2-like gene that
has homologues in the genomes of all extant roses
46. Scent..
Proposed: Emergence of the OOMT1 gene may have
been a critical step in the evolution of scent
production in Chinese roses
47. Other pests of roses:
Cane borers
Spider Mites
Leaf cutter bees
48. Other diseases:
Crown gall
: Agrobacterium
tumefaciens
: infection through wounds
Rose mosaic virus
: Through infected stocks
: No solution
49. Other problems:
Nitrogen deficiency – old leaves yellow first, spindly
growth, small and few flowers
• Magnesium deficiency – Edges of old leaves turn
yellow, apply magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) to rose
bushes
If soil salinity is too high, excess salts cause leaf
injury and dieback (Remedy- leaching)
51. Harvest/ Post-harvest:
Morning time
Clean secateurs
Red and pink cultivars : harvested when first two petals of
flowers start to unfold
Yellow types: harvested slightly earlier
White rose : slightly later than red and pink
52. Harvest/ Post-harvest..
Harvested stems are kept in bucket with cut stem
dipped in water
Roses are graded on the basis of the stem length
Bunched in a group of 10 or 20 bunches are made, it is
wrapped with plastic sleeve
53. Post-harvest
Re-cut at the base of the stem
Keep in bucket containing rose preservatives
Re-cut at wholesale center in water containing anti-
microbial agent
Glucose 5 % : Extending vase life
In some countries 200 ppm of Aluminum sulphate or
Citric acid and stored in cold storage
54. Post harvest:
Also, Calcium hypochlorite can be used before storage
GLCA (Gluconic acid ) 10% found effective for longer
vase life
Glucose, Isothiazolinonic Germicide, Citric acid and
Aluminum sulphate was also effective in opening
rose buds harvested at much early stage
Storage: 2-4°C (cold), 60 - 70% Relative Humidity
55. Packaging and Transport:
Bunches wrapped with sleeves
Additional band around the flower head
Card board boxes 12”X20”X60” (two 3” holes on each
side)
Orientation: Cut-stems at the center and flower head
at the sides
A sheet of butter paper placed above which another
layer of rose bunches are laid (until the box is filled)
56. Packaging and transport
Box is sealed with a tape
Details written on the box (destination,
consignee/buyer, name of product, quantity
Transport : Through Refrigerated Truck
57. Products and uses of rose:
Rose water from petals (perfumes, medicines,
confectionary); property of cooling the body (eye
lotions, eye drops, soothing qualities)
Also used in drinking water and sprinkled on the
guests at weddings, feasts and other social
functions
Rose oil from petals (Ayurvedic purpose, perfuming
soaps, cosmetics)
Gulkand (preserved for direct consumption),
prepared by pounding equal proportions of petals and
white sugar; considered both as tonic and laxative
58. Applications..
Pankhuri (dried rose petals): used for preparing
sweetened cold drinks
Gul-roghan (rose hair oil): prepared from rose petals
and wet sesamum (Til) seeds
Source of Vitamins: Rose hips are very good sources
of ascorbic acid, every 100 g of rose hip syrup contains
150 mg of ascorbic acid (compared with only 50mg
present in fresh orange juice, 20 mg in tomatoes and 5
mg in apples)
Other functions: perfume, petal wines, jam, jellies etc.
59. Transplanting the existing roses
Best time to transplant healthy roses is during
dormancy (Dec. – Mar.)
Cut canopy one third to one half back
Move as much of the root ball as possible