ANTHURIUM

PACKAGE OF PRACTICES

AgriApp team Criyagen, Bangalore

Anthurium are tropical plants of great beauty and grown either for the showy cut flowers
or for their unusually attractive foliage. They are very popular with flower arrangers
because of the bold effect and lasting qualities of flowers when cut. These contribute to
the elegance and attractiveness which are the prerequisites for a quality design. Provided
they are given the right greenhouse conditions they are easy enough to grow.
The name Anthurium is derived form the Greek anthos, flower, and oura, tail, referring to
the spadix.

Climate
Anthurium requires porous, well drained aerated soil rich in organic matter content. The
soil pH should be 5.5 and 6.5. It performs well under green shade net having 70 – 80 %
shade intention with 80 -90 % humidity and 24 - 28°C temperature and 15 - 22°C night
temperature with 1500 – 2000 foot candles light intensity

Growing environment: 75% shade net house with 70 - 80% relative humidity,
day temperature of 24 - 280C and night temperature of 15 - 220C.

Growing media
A growing media containing 1:1 mixture of leaf mould and coco peat with a pH of 5.5 to
6.5 is ideal, which ensures good drainage as well as water holding capacity.

Coco peat bricks

Propagation:
Propagated through tissue culture or suckers. Tissue culture plants are widely used for
commercial cultivation.
Seed : Seeds germinate within 10 days; transplanted after 4-6 month takes 2 - 3 years to
bloom. Seeds scattered on a finely shredded medium & kept under 75 % shade. Also
germinated aseptically under nitsch/ms media supplemented with BAP & Adenine
Suckers : Suckers produced from base of the plant at 4-5 leaf stage with 2-3 roots
separated. 57 ppm BAP at monthly intervals on more than one year old plant encourage
more suckers
Stem cutting : Top of the stem with few roots of 3 to 4 year old plants is removed and
planted. Each cutting should have single eye or bud IBA 500ppm produce good roots.
Tissue culture : Becoming popular; explants – leaf segments, root segments, stem
section, vegetaive buds, flower stalks, spathe and spadix; MS medium
Planting: Grown in pots or raised beds. Tissue culture plants of 15 cm height with 4-6
leaves are ideal for planting.

Cultivation:
Anthurium require warm greenhouse with shading form direct sunshine and a humid
condition. The optimum temperature for growth is 18-21OC and the minimum
temperature should not be less than 10-13OC for a short period. Bright but filtered light
is essential for abundant flowering.

Irrigation: Mist or over head sprinkler to provide water and to improve relative
humidity.
Manuring and Fertilization:
Anthurium need adequate amount of nutrients for their proper growth and
flowering. Among the major elements, application of nitrogen, potassium and calcium
markedly improve the yield and quality of flowers.

Pot cultivation
Foliar application of 0.2% of NPK @ 30:10:10 during vegetative stage and 10:20:20
during flowering stage is adopted for pot cultivation. Fertigation can be adopted for raised
bed cultivation.

Raised bed cultivation

For the first 6 months spray plants with a solution of cow dung and DAP @ 250 ml/plant
(10 kg of cow dung + 2 kg of DAP dissolved in 200 l of water and the decanted solution
is used for spaying). After 6 months fertigation is adopted with the following schedule.
Fertilizer Quantity (g/100m2)
Schedule ‘A’ - Weekly once
Calcium Nitrate 250
Potassium Nitrate 150
Micro nutrients 50
Schedule ‘B’ - Weekly once
Mono Ammonium Phosphate 250
Potassium Nitrate 100
Magnesium Sulphate 50
Bed system
Soil is incorporated with organic matter. Bed size of 1.2 to 1.4m width with a spacing of
60 x 60 cm is found ideal.

Shade regulation
Open condition with adequate shading facility are the best. Growing under polythene
plastic with shade cloth prevents bacterial blight. 70-80% shade level is found to be best
for Tamil Nadu and Kerala conditions. Excess light causes permanent damage to the
leaves. Shade net should be laid at a minimum height of 3m from ground level.

Under polythene plastic with shade cloth

Fertilizer requirement
NPK @ 30:10:10 @ 0.2% is given from 30 days of planting as foliar application at weekly
intervals

Growth regulators
Application of GA3 200 ppm as foliar spray at 2 month intervals improves the growth and
quality of flowers

After cultivation
Leaf pruning retaining 4 – 6 leaves/plant has to be taken up then and there to avoid disease
problem and to promote flowering. The roots formed on the lower leaf axils should be
buried.

Excess light
Leaves appear bleached in the center and may have brown tips. To control this problem,
shade should be given so as to reduce the light level to 1800-2500 foot-candles.

DNP:

Apply 2Kg of DNP at the time of pre-monsoon (May-June) and 2kg in post
monsoon (Nov- Dec) along with other chemical fertilizers.

Foliar Spray:
“Bio- Maxx”: Dissolve 3 ml of “Bio Maxx” in 1 liter of water.
 First spray after flower emergence.
 Second spray 15-20days after first spray.

“Total”: Dissolve 5 g of “Total” in every liter of water or 1kg in 200 liters

of water and spray on both surfaces of leaves. Repeat spray at monthly
interval.

BIO FERTILIZER AND BIOPESTICIDE:

(Pseudomonas /Trichoderma/ Phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) / Azospirillum)

 Seed treatment: One container/ 500gm for an acre of seed (if seed rate is >10 kg. use
two containers.)
 Soil Application: Mix 1 container (1liter) /5 kg (Solid) in 100 kg of farmyard manure
and cover it for 7 days with polythene. Turn the mixture in every 3-4 days interval and
then broadcast in the field.
 Foliar Spray: Dilute 1 container in 50 litre of water and spray to the crop of an acre.
 Seedling (Root Dipping): Dilute 1 container/500gm in 10 litres of water, keep the
seedling roots in immersed condition for 30 minutes and transfer it to the field.

Pseudomonas
(PSB) Phosphate Trichoderma Azospirillum
solubilizing bacteria

Diseases of Anthurium:
1. Anthracnose:
This is the most damaging discease of Anthurium, cause by Colletotrichum
gleosporioides. Also known as spadix rot or black nose and it are a problem in high rain
fall areas.
Maneb at 2 1b/100 gal and dodine or dyrene at 1 lg/100 gal gave good control of the
disease.
2. Root Rot:
Root rot of A. Andrenum, incited by Pythium splendens often causes serious losses in
Pucrto Rico, especially during rainy season. This disease can be controlled by a soil
application of PCNB (Quintozene) 8 oz/50 gal water.

3. Leaf Spot:
Leaf spot disease is caused by Septoria anthuri and controlled by sprays of 300 g
carbileen (zineb) in 100 liter water, repeated at interval of 2-3 weeks.

4. Powdery Mildew:
This disease, caused by Erysiphe communis, was first reported on Anthurium
scherzerianum grown in Germany. Treatment with 0.1 % bonomyl casily controls the
discase.

5. Bacterial wilt :

Spray Streptocyclin (200 ppm)

Pests of Anthurium:
1. Aphids:
These insects suck the plant’s sap cause yellowing and distortion of leaves and poor
growth.
Systemic insecticides containing dimethoate and Malathion (0.2%) effectively control the
aphids.

2. Scale and Insect:

Scale insects infest stems and leaves, suck the sap and weaken the plants. Wiping the
insects off the plants with a cotton-wool swab soaked in methylated sprit or spray with
0.2% Malathion work well against these insects.

3. Spider Mites:
These minute mites cause yellowish mottling of the leaves which may become brown and
shrivel. Spraying of affected plants with 0.2% Malathion or kelthane (8 ml in 10 liters of
water) was found to be very effective to control the mites.

4. Thrips:
 Thrips suck the sap form leaves and cause a mottled effect on foliage and flowers. The
control mensures are similar to those of aphids and scale insects.

Harvest
Harvest commences after 3 – 6 months of planting. Each leaf unfold will give out one
flower. Flowers are harvested when the spathe completely unfurls and the spadix is well
developed with one third of bisexual flowers got opened. Harvesting has to be done
during cooler parts of the day i.e.) early morning or late evening. In general, the blooms
are placed in water held in plastic buckets immediately after cutting from the plant. Delay
in keeping in water allows air entry into the stem and causes blockage of the vascular
vessels. Cut flowers after harvest should be shifted to pre cooling chambers in
refrigerated vehicles having 2-4°C temperature as they deteriorate most rapidly at high
temperature.

Yield
An average 8 flowers/plant/year can be obtained.

Post harvest technology

1. Pulsing of flower stalks with BA 25 ppm for 24 hours improves shelf life up to 24.5
days as against 13.5 days in control
2. Packing the spathe with spadix in poly film (100 gauge) and covering the basal ends of
the stalks with cotton dipped in BA improves shelf life up to 27.5 days
3. Holding solution: 8 HQC 200 ppm + sucrose 5 % increases vase life up to 30.5 days

DISCLAIMER

This is to acknowledge that the content provided in the application is purely for
farmer’s reference and doesn’t provide any warranty or guaranty for the yield. All the
content of the document are sourced from below references and expert of criyagen
AgriApp Team. The company is not liable for any issue, loss, damage or consequence
caused of any kind, directly or indirectly including dosages and crop varieties
suggested. End users are asked to check with local experts and take necessary caution
while adopting suggestion made in here.

References
 Agropedia
 Criyagen Agri App, Bangalore.
 Tamil Nadu Agri tech portal, TNAU, Coimbatore.
 University Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore.
 University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad.
 Indian Horticultural Research institute.
 www.ikisan.com.
 www.agriinfotech.com