Commercial Floriculture

Special cultural practices to improve the quality

1. Thinning:
• Removal of the undesirable growth like inward growth, weak stems, blind shoots, crowded growth.

2. De-suckering:
• The operation of removal of suckers from root stock i.e. the shoots produced below the bud union on rootstocks is called de-suckering.

3. Pinching:
• Removal of a part of terminal growing portion of stem is called pinching.
• It is done to reduce the plant height and to promote auxiliary branching.
• Pinching of blind shoot is beneficial to increase flowering.

4. Disbudding:
• Removal of undesirable buds is known as disbudding.
• Keeping only the central bud and removal of others cause development of a quality bloom.
• It is done in standard/HT roses to reduce number of flowers.

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5. Removal of young vegetative shoots:
• This practice is also known as de-shooting.
• It is generally followed in HT roses.

  Young vegetative shoots developing from the axils of leaves of basal and lateral shoots are removed to allow only one terminal shoots.

  It is important from the point of stalk length.

6. Defoliation:
• Under special conditions it is followed, but it has reported that removal of leaves from rose plants will increase number of blind shoots,
• It will force the plants to produce growth and flowering during desired period.

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7. Use of growth substances:
• To some extent some growth regulators like GA3 and retardants like CCC are used to get more number of flowers with good quality.
• GA3 @ 250ppm has been found to increase the stalk length, flower size and reduce number of blind shoots.

8. Removal of faded flowers:
• If the opened blooms are not removed in time, there is chance of developing fruits bearing seeds.
• Once the hips are formed and reach the advanced stage of development, growth and flowering are severely reduced during the season;
• Cutting of faded flowers will force to produce strong lateral shoots which will produce good quality flowers.

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