Commercial Floriculture: Importance and scope

Importance of Floriculture

Flowers have long been regarded as a symbol of grace and elegance, as well as a visual feast. They're used at all religious festivals. Flowers are often given as birthday gifts, wedding gifts, or when visiting sick individuals, as well as at funerals. Most Hindu women wear flowers in their hair, such as Gajara and Veni, and it is one of the most essential floral ornaments that adds grace to their beauty. Flowers are loved by all individuals, regardless of their origin, ethnicity, sex, or cadre.

Devotees commonly offer flowers in temples, gurudwaras, churches, and mosques. Flowers can also be used as a decorative element. Even dried flowers are used in flower arrangements, such as garlands and bouquets, which are made and offered to greet dignitaries. When cut flowers are used to decorate a vase, it becomes a stunning piece of indoor decoration.

Thus, taking into account various factors such as bio-aesthetic planning, floral gardens, indoor decoration, social functions, and religious functions, the demand for floricultural plants is steadily increasing, and there is a good opportunity for growing and raising Ornamental or Floricultural plants to meet this demand. When it comes to the flower trade, cut flowers such as roses, chrysanthemums, gladiolus, and tuberose are in high demand. While loose flowers include Aster, Gaillardia, Marigold, Chrysanthemum, Jasmines, and Tager Nerium.

Also Read - 10 Most Expensive Flowers in the World

Goals 

• Crop improvement - Genetic resource enhancement, evaluation, and conservation. 

• Breeding of novel color, short duration, temperature, and drought-tolerant ornamental cultivars. 

• Breeding of dwarf cultivars of high-value flowers/foliage plants. 

• Strengthening/standardization/popularization of F1 hybrid seed production in important annual flowers. 

• Exportable ‘made in India’ varieties using molecular breeding and advanced techniques. 

• Production technology. 

• Development of agro-technologies for open field and protective cultivation – region-specific, energy-efficient, low cost, and eco-friendly production systems. 

• Commercialization of ‘Specialty Flowers’ as new flowers to attract buyers and market demand. 

• Digitalized spray and fertigation schedules. 

• Tissue culture is used to create high-quality planting materials.

• Improved media, new cladding materials, and new energy and light sources.

• New generation chemicals to improve blooming time, shelf life, and other properties.

• From planting to packaging to storage, everything is automated.

• Standardization of operation techniques for the isolation of pigments, essential oils, and natural colors/dyes in post-harvest technologies.

• New flower crops and drying processes for dry flowers are being developed.

• Natural flower dyes for pot-pourries and other floral arrangements.

• Perishability is reduced through post-harvest innovation for superior packing and low-cost storage.

• Anti-senescence technology is being researched in order to postpone ageing.

• Improved turf grass species for landscaping.

• Vertical gardening and urban greening technology

• Plants that are suitable for landscaping are being developed.

• Controlling the health of plants.

• Beautiful flowers and a healthy landscape

• An catalogue of flower crop pests and pathogens. Expert method for pest and disease forecasting in the digital age.

• Emerging pests and pathogens prevention, management, and elimination under a changing climate environment.

• Crop protection strategies with reduced pesticide inputs. 

• Multiple pest and disease resistant flowering plants. 

• Assured plant Biosecurity by generating database on potential pest and diseases of flower crops, diagnostics and containment techniques and information sharing. 

• Quality floriculture products meeting international sanitary and phytosanitary standards. 

Also, Read - Get high returns with proper Gerbera Flower Cultivation

Contact details - Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture
Pt. K.L.S. College of Horticulture & Research Station
Rajnandgaon- 491441(C.G.) India 

Author for corresponding: hemantdevelopment09@gmail.com