Commercial Floriculture

Grading standards for cut flowers in the world market requirements

Sl. No.	Crop	Grading method/s
1	ROSE	Based on stem length, Long stemmed graded from 40-90 cm with difference of 10 cm, Short stemmed from 40-65 with 5 cm difference. Leaves dark green, healthy, free from dust, residue pest and disease. Buds should not be bull head, too opened, too tight, bent neck, and strong stem.
2	GLADIOLUS	Generally based on stem length, Number of florets per spike, Long spikes with more florets fetch better price. Stem straight, Colour of florets, Optimum stage of openness of florets, etc. According to North American Gladiolus Council (NAGC), USA
		Grade			Spike length (cm)			Minimum No. of florets
		Fancy (Grade A) Special (Grade B) Standard (Grade C) Utility (Grade D)			107 96-107 81-96 <81			16 14 12 10
3	CARNATION	Based on the degree of bud opening Flower diameter Stem length, strong ness of stem etc. According to Society of American Florists, USA
		Grade	Minimum flower Diameter (mm)					Minimum stem length (cm)
		Blue (fancy)	Tight 50 Fairly tight 20 Open 75 Tight 44					55
		Red (standard)	Fairly tight 56 Open 69 Tight <50 Fairy tight < 50					43
		Green (short)	Fairy tight < 50					30
4	CHRYSANTHEMUM	Generally based on stem length and flower size, Long stem and large sized flowers fetch better price.
		According to Society of American Florists, USA
		Grade		Minimum flower diameter (mm)				Minimum stem length (cm)
		Blue (fancy) Red (special) Green (short)		140 121 102				76 76 61
5	GERBERA	Based on straight, strong, length of stem (40cm minimum), Flowers uniform in size, not less than 7 cm.
6	ANTHURIUM	Generally, based on spathe size, Straightness of stem, freshness, colour etc. According to USA and Holland based on
		Grade					Size of the spathe
							Holland (inches)		USA (cm)
		Extra large Large Medium Small Miniature/Tiny					>6 5-6 4-5 3-4 <3		>15 13-15 10-13 8-10 <8
7	ORCHIDS	Generally, based on spathe size, straightness of stem, freshness, colour, etc. According to USA and Holland based on
		Grade				No. of flowers/spike
		A B C D				3-5 6-8 9-11 >11
8	TUBEROSE	Based on stalk length, Number of florets per spike, Weight of spike, Straight and strong ness, uniform length and uniform stage of development.

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Gerbera

Grade no.	Stem Length(cm)	Flower Diameter (cm)	Flower Colour	Preference(%)
1.	More than 60 cm	More than 12 cm	Pink	40
2.	50-60	11-10	Reddish orange	20
3.	40-50	10-9	Orange	20
4.	30-40	9-8	Red	15
5.	Below 30	8-7	Yellow	5
Stage of harvest when ray florets completely elongated
Number of flower in bundle -50 flower in CBF box
box size - 100*30*10 cm
Popular variety - Sangria, Cabana ,Thalasa
Switzerland ( Red, Violet to soft shades)

Bunching / Bundling
• Flowers immediately after harvest, are made into bunches of 5, 10, 12 or 20 stems and loosely tied with rubber hand at the base and close to the bunched head.
• Bunching should be done carefully to avoid bruising.
  
• Remove lower leaves, uniform fresh basal cut is given manually or mechanical.
  
• Bunching helps for easy packing and handling.
  
• Flowers such as gerbera, orchids, anthurium, and standard chrysanthemum are packed individually.
  
• Dendrobium and anthurium are kept moist by putting them in specially designed vials filled with water or in moist wool.
  
• The bunches are held in polyethylene sleeves or the buds are wrapped in corrugated paper to protect them from mechanical damage.

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