LECTURE -12
PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF
TUBEROSE
1
It has a great economic potential for cut flowers trade
and essential oil industry.
The predominant characteristics of this crop are its
lingering, delightful fragrance and excellent keeping quality.
They are used for making artistic garlands, floral
ornaments, bouquets and buttonholes.
The variegated ones with beautiful golden stripes on
foliage margins are very attractive and suitable for garden
display.
There are three types tuberose
Single
Semi-double
Double and variegated
Cultivars
1. Rajat Rekha
2. Swarna Rekha
3. Shringar
4. Suvasini
5. Prajwal
6. Vaibhav
Soil
Tuberose can be grown on wide variety of soils from
light, sandy loam to a clay loam.
The soil should be at least 45 cm deep, well drained,
friable, rich in organic matter
The soil should have a pH range from 6.5 to 7.5 with
good aeration.
Climate
The crop is best suited for cultivation in tropical to
subtropical and temperate climates.
The crop is reported to flower profusely throughout the
year, if the climate is mild and free from extremes of high
and low temperature.
A temperature range from 20-30°C is considered ideal
for this crop.
4
Season of planting
Tuberoses are generally planted in February-March in
the plains and April-May in the hills.
The bulbs can also be planted during July-August.
Tuberoses can be planted all year round in Bangalore,
but a higher flower-yield is obtained from the April-May
planting.
Land preparation
The land is ploughed deep, twice, to a depth of 45 cm.
At the time of the second ploughing apply FYM @ 20-
50 t/ha and incorporate into the soil.
Then the soil is brought to a fine tilth by breaking the
clods and removing the weeds.
The field is laid out into plots of convenient sizes with
irrigation channels, ridges and furrows at the recommended
spacin.
Propagation
Propagation by bulbs is the most common method of
multiplication of tuberoses.
If early planting is desired, the dormancy can be
successfully broken by dipping the bulbs in 4% Thiourea
solution for one hour.
Spindle-shaped bulbs with a diameter of 2.6 to 3 cm
size are used for planting.
However, if the bulbs are very large they may be cut
into 2-3 vertical sections, each containing a bud and part
of the basal plate.
Each of these sections is treated with copper fungicide
and planted vertically with their tips just showing above
the surface.
Planting
A spacing of 15 x 20 cm (Maharashtra)
25 x 25 cm (West Bengal)
30 x 30 cm (Lucknow)
30 x 22.5 cm (Bangalore)
20 x 20 cm (for other part of South India) have been
recommended for this crop.
Fertilizer application
100 kg N, 60 kg P2O5 and 40 kg K2O /ha is
recommended for tuberose production.
Of the full recommended dose of fertilizers, half the N,
the full dose of P and K has to be applied at the time of
planting and the remaining half of N is given as a top-
dressing after 45 days of planting.
7
Irrigation
• Subsequently, the crop is irrigated at 5-7 days intervals
depending upon weather conditions.
• In the summer months, irrigation is recommended twice
a week.
Effect of Growth regulators
Application of both CCC at 5000 ppm and GA3 at
1000 ppm results in early flowering, increased flower
stalk, number of flower florets production and improves
the quality of flowers
Intercultural operations
• In order to keep the plots free of weeds and to avoid the
exposure of bulbs, the plots are weeded and earthed-up
once a month.
• The application of Atrazine (@ 3 kg/ha) as a pre-
emergent
8 weedicide keeps the plots weed-free.
Pests of tuberose
• Aphids
• Grasshoppers
• Red spider mites
• Thrips
• Root-knot nematode and greasy streak nematode
Diseases of tuberose
Stem rot
Flower Bud rot
Leaf blight or Botrytis blight
Alternaria leaf spot
Harvesting and yield
Flowers are ready for harvest in about 3 to 3 1/2
months of planting.
Depending on the purpose, harvesting is done by
cutting the fully-opened spikes from the base or single
flowers are harvested as they open by day; the picking of
individual flowers should be completed by 8.00 a.m.
Flowers yield up to 17-18 t/ha can be expected from a
well-maintained crop.
Lifting, curing and storage of bulbs
• Bulbs reach maturity at the cessation of flowering when
the leaves become yellow and dry.
• 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.
