Exotic Flower Gladiolus Can Now Be Commercially Grown in Chintapalle of ASR District
�Visakhapatnam:�An oft-seen flower in popular gardens for generations, gladiolus – a flower once only native to Africa and Asia Minor, can now be grown in the high-altitude areas of Chintapalle in Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) district. Revealing this, A. Appalaswamy Babu, assistant director of Regional Agriculture Research Station (RARS) in Chintapalle, said they have successfully grown the flower at their premises. “Gladiolus can now be grown in the high altitude and tribal (HAT) zone of ASR district, which is blessed with a wide diversity of agro climatic conditions suitable for producing speciality exotic / cut flowers,” Appalaswamy told this correspondent on Friday. The flower had first been introduced in India in the 17th Century by the British. Initially, it had been grown only in hilly tracts of the country commercially. But now, it is being grown in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Gladiolus is a leading cut flower in India as well as the world. It is very much liked for its majestic spikes, which contain attractive, elegant and delicate florets. These florets open in sequence over a longer duration and hence gladiolus is popular. The RARS assistant director observed that growing exotic specialty flowers is one of the best options for small-scale tribal farmers. But producers are reluctant to grow such flowers due to lack of sufficient information about their production and postharvest-handling protocols. Appalaswamy Babu said based on the recorded data of four different gladiolus cultivar sowings, it has been found that Arka Ayush recorded the highest net returns. The flower blooms in cream, violet, red, orange and dark red to orange colours. He said the cost of cultivation would be around Rs2.5 lakh per acre. And, farmers can earn Rs 4.5 lakh gross profit by growing the flower from November to January. RARS officials convened a meeting recently with flower merchants from different parts of Andhra to create awareness among them about the availability of gladiolus flowers in Chintapalle in the near future. The merchants told the officials that if harvest of these flowers is guaranteed, they would stop buying them from the Bangalore market. The RARS assistant director suggested that ITDA and state government can look for ways to help tribal farmers with the investment, as most of them cannot afford the kind of money that cultivation of gladiolus requires.
�Visakhapatnam:�An oft-seen flower in popular gardens for generations, gladiolus – a flower once only native to Africa and Asia Minor, can now be grown in the high-altitude areas of Chintapalle in Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) district.
Revealing this, A. Appalaswamy Babu, assistant director of Regional Agriculture Research Station (RARS) in Chintapalle, said they have successfully grown the flower at their premises. “Gladiolus can now be grown in the high altitude and tribal (HAT) zone of ASR district, which is blessed with a wide diversity of agro climatic conditions suitable for producing speciality exotic / cut flowers,” Appalaswamy told this correspondent on Friday.
The flower had first been introduced in India in the 17th Century by the British. Initially, it had been grown only in hilly tracts of the country commercially. But now, it is being grown in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Gladiolus is a leading cut flower in India as well as the world. It is very much liked for its majestic spikes, which contain attractive, elegant and delicate florets. These florets open in sequence over a longer duration and hence gladiolus is popular.
The RARS assistant director observed that growing exotic specialty flowers is one of the best options for small-scale tribal farmers. But producers are reluctant to grow such flowers due to lack of sufficient information about their production and postharvest-handling protocols.
Appalaswamy Babu said based on the recorded data of four different gladiolus cultivar sowings, it has been found that Arka Ayush recorded the highest net returns. The flower blooms in cream, violet, red, orange and dark red to orange colours.
He said the cost of cultivation would be around Rs2.5 lakh per acre. And, farmers can earn Rs 4.5 lakh gross profit by growing the flower from November to January.
RARS officials convened a meeting recently with flower merchants from different parts of Andhra to create awareness among them about the availability of gladiolus flowers in Chintapalle in the near future. The merchants told the officials that if harvest of these flowers is guaranteed, they would stop buying them from the Bangalore market.
The RARS assistant director suggested that ITDA and state government can look for ways to help tribal farmers with the investment, as most of them cannot afford the kind of money that cultivation of gladiolus requires.
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