Commercial Floriculture

Importance of growing China aster

• Popularity is increasing in and around cities due to its short duration and bewitching colors.
• In India it is widely grown in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra.
• It’s accounting for 6 % of the total area and 8.8 % of the total flower production in Karnataka state.
• It can be grown in various agro climate zones.
• It is also suitable for growing as intercrop in coconut gardens and orchards also.
• Cheaply available cut flower.
• It can be mixed with other cut flowers for making bouquets.
• It can be grown by small and marginal farmers.
• Good seed setting and no dormancy.

Morphology It is a half hardy annual, plants are erect with branching habit. Plants are erect bearing alternate, broadly ovate or triangular-ovate, irregularly toothed leaves. Flowers are solitary. Blooms contain two kinds of florets: ray florets and disc florets. The discs are short and ray florets are long. Semi-double or double. It has a wide array of varieties and the height ranges from 6 inches to 3 feet. They have daisy-like or star-like flower heads (4-6" in diameter) with a yellow center often tall stems. Their colors vary from white to creamy yellow, pink, blue, red and purple.

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Floral Biology China aster is a self-pollinated crop, approximately 10% of natural crossing Flower head consists of both pistillate ray florets and perfect disc florets. Normally, the stamens and pistils do not mature simultaneously in the individual flowers.

Origin and History
The genus Callistephus derives its name from two Greek words ‘kalistos’ means ‘most beautiful’ and ‘stephos’ means ‘a crown’ referring to the flowers.
Cassini described the China aster as Callistephus hortensis. Linnaeus as Aster chinensis and Nees subsequently changed this name to Callistephus chinensis.
It was introduced in Europe during 1731 and then spread to different part of the world.
The first change in the flower type was the development of the central florets, which led to quelled flowers.
The German developed the German aster or double cultivar.
Comet types introduced in 1886 replaced the quelled types.
Introduction of new branching types in 1893in the USA.

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