After reading this article you will learn about:- 1. Introduction to Marigold 2. Varieties of Marigold 3. Soil and Climate Requirements 4. Manures and Fertilizers 5. Harvesting, Packing and Transportation.
Introduction to Marigold:
In India, marigold is one of the most commonly grown flowers and used extensively on religious and social functions in different forms. It was introduced in India during the 16th century and since then it has been naturalized in different agro-climatic regions of India in such a way that it now appears to be native of this country.
It has gained popularity amongst gardeners and flower dealers on account of its easy culture and wide acceptability. Further its habit of profuse flowering, short duration to produce marketable flowers, wide spectrum of attractive colours, shape, size and good keeping quality attracted the attention of producers and traders most. Therefore, the commercial cultivation of this crop found its way in the vicinity of different cities and towns.
Flowers are sold in the market as loose or as garlands. Due to its variable height and colour, marigold is especially used for decoration and included in landscape plans. Besides it is also ideal for newly planted shrubberies to fill in the spaces with attractive colours. French marigold because of dwarfness and profuse flowering is most ideal for rockery, edging, hanging baskets and window boxes.
In the survey carried out in Bombay, Bengaluru, Calcutta, Madras and Delhi, the annual production of marigold has been reported to be 19857 tonnes. The price of marigold like any other produce depends upon demand and supply.
During rainy and winter season under the north Indian conditions, it is sold at Rs. 10-15 per kg whereas during summer season it fetches Rs. 15-25 per kg. However, the Study conducted at Bengaluru, revealed that a net profit varying from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 65,000 per ha is not uncommon even when it is sold at Rs. 5 per kg.
Varieties of Marigold:
There are 33 species of marigold and numerous varieties.
Most of the varieties are planted for garden decoration.
The important varieties are:
T. erecta (African marigold)—Giant Double African Orange (Plate 6), Giant Double African Yellow, Cracker Jack, Climax, Dubloon, Golden Age, Chrysanthemum Charm, C.own of Gold, Spun Gold, Pusa Narangi, Pusa Besanti.
T. patula. (French marigold)—Red Brocade, Rusty Red, Butter Scotch, Valencia, Sussana.
T. tenuifolia—Golden Gem, Lulu, Pumila, Ursula.
However, in the market mostly orange coloured varieties are preferred and the variety which is dominating is African Giant Double Orange.
Soil and Climate Requirements of Marigold:
Soil:
Marigold can be successfully cultivated on a wide variety of soils. However, a soil that is deep fertile, friable having good water holding capacity well drained and near to neutral in reaction viz. pH 7.0-7.5 is most desirable.
Climate:
Marigold requires mild climate for luxuriant growth and profuse flowering. It ceases to grow at high temperature thereby flower quantity and quality is adversely attested. During severe winter including frost plants and flowers are killed and blackened.
However, plants if allowed to over winter, sprout during spring season and produce some flowers. Sowing and planting is carried out during rainy season, winter and summer season. Hence, flowers of marigold can be had almost throughout the year.
Under north Indian conditions in the plains the best flowering has been observed during winter months i.e., from October to April. During summer which is characterized by high temperature and long days, plants remain mostly vegetative with sparse flowering. Under such conditions, flower size is reduced considerably but length of flower stalk is increased. On the contrary in the hills flowering commences from May onwards which continues up to October.
Preparation of soil:
Land should be well prepared by ploughing it 2-3 times and 50 tons of well rotten farmyard manure should be well mixed/ha. Beds of convenient size are made to facilitate irrigation and other cultural operations.
Planting:
There are two common methods of propagation of marigold i.e., (i) by seeds, (ii) by cuttings. Crop raised from seeds is tall, vigorous and heavy bloomer; thus it is preferred over cuttings.
Seed rate and Nursery rising:
Seeds of wide range of varieties of common species i.e., T. erecta, T. patula, T. tenuifolia are easily available and germinate quickly. Therefore, propagation through seed is advised. For better seed germination, optimum temperature range is between 18 to 30°C. For raising seedlings for one hectare, about 1.5 kg.seed is required.
Seeds of marigold can be sown in pots, seed boxes or on flat or raised nursery beds. Nursery beds of 3 × 1 m size are thoroughly prepared and mixed with 10 kg of well rotten farmyard manure per sq m. About 8 to 10 such beds are needed to raise seedlings for one hectare. Before sowing the seeds, D.D.T. or B.H.C. should be dusted on outer side of nursery beds to avoid removal of seeds by ants.
Seeds can be sown preferably in lines or by broadcast method. In case of broadcasting care should be taken for proper distribution of seeds so as to have healthy seedlings. For this, thinning is an important operation in both the methods. Seeds need to be covered with light soil on sand or strained leaf mould and watering should be done with rose can. For entire period, nursery bed should be kept moist but not wet and thus watered accordingly.
Sowing time:
Marigold Crop Can be raised three times a year i.e., rainy, winter and summer season.
Sowing and planting times for each season are as under:
A scheme has been developed to produce marigold flowers from October to May- June (Fig. 9.1). By following the growers around the cities can produce flowers for longer duration and good profit can be earned.
Performance of a variety varies from season to season which is reflected in the data given in Table 9.1 for Giant Double African Orange (Research conducted at RA.U.)
Size of flowers is likely to vary within a season whether flowers plucked or not.
Cuttings:
This method is commonly followed for maintaining the purity of varieties. Normally, the presence of adventitious roots along the stem helps in the establishment of cuttings. About 10 cm long cutting are made and treated with seradix No. 1. The cuttings are planted in the sand to strike roots easily and plants thus raised are used for bedding and pot planting.
Transplanting of Seedlings:
Marigold seedlings are easily established after transplanting in the field without much mortality. Fast growing root system presents in this species enable the seedlings to establish better. At the time of transplanting, seedlings normally of about one month old should have attained 3-4 true leaves and must be stocky.
Closely sown seeds give rise to thin, long and weak plants which are leggy and do not make a good plant. Very old seedlings are also not desirable because they have lost their juvenile phase in the nursery itself. Seedlings should be transplanted in well prepared land in the evening especially during rainy and summer seasons to avoid exposure to harsh weather, transplanting shock and to allow better establishment in cool hours of night.
Soil should be pressed well around root zone so that there are no air spaces left. After transplanting, a light irrigation is essential. Heavy irrigation if done immediately after transplanting seedlings bent down and leaves stick with the soil which delays proper development of plant. On light sandy soil irrigation a day before transplanting is considered beneficial for the better establishment of seedlings.
Spacing:
Proper spacing between plants is required for growth, development and flower production. Two marigold species which are commonly grown for commercial production of flowers require different spacing’s, for example Targets erecta requires wider spacing’s than T. patula. Experiments conducted at RA.U. reveal that high flower production in Giant Double African Orange (T. erecta) was obtained by planting at a distance of 40 x 30 cm whereas in case of T. patula cv. Red Brocade higher number and weight of flowers per plant was recorded in spacing’s 20 × 20 cm; however, per unit area, highest yield obtained was from 20 × 10 cm spacing.
Manures and Fertilizers for Marigold:
Although marigold is one of the commercial flowers but much research work has not been done to determine its requirements for macro and micro nutrients for growth and flower production. The rate of nutrient utilization from soil has been reported to be 57.5 per cent of available N, 20.1 per cent R 94.4 per cent K, 8.6 per cent Ca, 23.0 per cent Mg and 6.4 per cent Na.
Field trials were conducted at RA.U. for two years to find out optimum dose of N and P of marigold (Tagetes erecta) cv. Giant Double African Orange for growth and’ flower production. The indication was that with the increase of N from 0 to 40 g/sq m, the number of flowers per plant and flower yield increased with the increase in dose whereas plant height responded only up to 30 g/sq m.
The response to P was inconsistent on growth and flower production. Therefore, to get highest flower yield, 100 kg N (4 Q CAN) 100 kg P2O5 (6.25 Q single superphosphate) and 100 kg K2O per ha should be mixed at the time of preparation of land. Remaining 100 kg N (4 Q CAN) per ha should be applied one month after seedlings are transplanted.
Weeding and Hoeing:
Weeds are a problem in marigold especially in rainy season crop. After transplanting of marigold seedlings in the field, weeds grow faster than marigold in initial stages and cover large area in a few days. If these weeds are not removed in time, a great loss would occur in terms of growth and productivity of marigold. In India, weeding is done manually. It has been observed that 3-4 times weeding’s are required during the entire growth period.
Irrigation:
Marigold is a herbaceous plant and puts up rapid vegetative growth during initial stages. It takes about 55-60 days to complete vegetative growth and to enter into reproductive phase. At this stage terminal flower buds appear which break the apical dominance and encourage secondary branches.
At all stages of vegetative growth and during flowering period sufficient amount of moisture in soil is essential. Moisture stress at any stage of growth and development may hamper the normal growth and productivity of flowers. The frequency and quantity of water mainly depends upon soil and climatic conditions.
In lighter soil more frequent irrigation is required than that in heavy soil. Season of planting determines the frequency of irrigation. If rainfall is normal and well distributed, irrigation is not frequently required, but if the rain is scanty, irrigation is needed frequently.
It has been experienced under sandy loam conditions of Punjab that from September to March, weekly irrigation is enough. Though “plants tolerate dry weather up to 10 days without irrigation but growth and flower production is affected adversely. From April to June, frequent irrigation at the interval of 4-5 days is required.
Pinching of Marigold Plants:
In tall varieties of Tagetes erecta emergence of side branches and their flowering is influenced by the presence of apical dominance. It has been observed that the plants of marigold grow straight upwards to their final height and develop into terminal flower bud. By production of terminal flower bud, side buds become free from correlative inhibition of apical dominance and these buds develop into branches to produce flowers.
However, if the terminal portion of shoot is removed early, emergence of side branches starts earlier and more number of flowers of good quality and uniform size are produced. Results of studies on pinching revealed that pinching the plants 40 days after transplanting enabled the plants to yield more flowers. However, the plants remained dwarf and flowering was delayed in comparison to late pinching i.e., 50 or 60 days after transplanting.
Harvesting, Packing and Transportation of Marigold:
Harvesting of flowers:
Marigold flowers should be plucked when they attain the full size depending upon the variety. Plucking of flowers should be done in cool hours of the day i.e., either in the morning or evening. Field should be irrigated before so that flowers keep well of longer period after plucking.
Plucking is done by hand because flower stalk is a hollow structure which breaks easily when twisted between thumb and finger. Productivity of plants is increased considerably by regular plucking of flowers. It has been observed that in an acre flowers can be plucked by 6-8 labourers in a day. Flowers plucked should be covered with moist gunny bags if kept over-night before taking to market.
Packing:
Marigold flowers are primarily used for making garlands and hence plucked flowers are collected in gunny bags or bamboo baskets for carrying to the market. For the local market marigold flowers are taken into gunny bags whereas for distant market bamboo baskets are used.
Transportation:
Different means of transportation including rickshaws, buses and trains are used to carry the flowers to market depending upon the distance.
Yield of flowers:
Flower yield depends upon season of planting and cultural practices adopted. On an average a fresh flower yield of 200-225 q per ha during rainy season, 150 to 175 q per ha in winter and 100-120 q/ha in summer can be obtained.
Seed production:
Marigold is a cross pollinated crop, hence, proper isolation distance of 1-1.5 km should be given amongst varieties. However, natural cross pollination amongst species is absent. The seed crop is ready in about six months.
Under Indian conditions, winter crop of marigold does well for flower as well as for seed crop. Seed production studies carried out revealed that seed yield of 312 to 375 kg per ha in T. erecta cv. Giant Double African Orange and 1000 to 1250 kg/ha in T. patula could be obtained.