Commercial Floriculture

Lifting, Curing, and Storage of Bulbs

• Bulbs reach maturity at the cessation of flowering when the leaves become yellow and dry during winter (February-March) in North India.
• At this stage, irrigation is withheld and the soil is allowed to dry.
• The leaves are cut off at the ground level and the bulbs are dug out.
• After digging, the bulbs are lifted out and the adhering earth shaken off neatly and thoroughly.
• The offsets are then separated out by hand, which are used as seed-stock for the next season.
• The bulbs are the graded based on the size into mature (> 1.5 cm diameter) and immature (< 1.5 cm diameter).
• Cleaned and graded bulbs are placed on sheaves to dry or cure.
• To hasten curing, artificial heat of 27^o to 35^o C may be applied.
• The bulbs must be stirred or have their position changed every few days to prevent fungal attack and rotting.
• An ambient air temperature of at least 18^oC for four to six weeks or exactly six weeks at 30^oC stimulates the yield of commercial sized bulbs.
• Longer storage at 30^oC advances flower spike yield but the quality of spike deteriorates and the bulb number decreases.