Anthurium - Species and Varieties - Production technology

INTRODUCTION
 The word ‘Anthurium’ : In Greek – ‘anthos’= flower;
‘oura’= tail
 Family : Araceae
 Origin : South America (Columbia)
 Anthurium andreanum : Cut flower
 A.scherzerianum : Potted plant
 A.crystallinum : Foliage
 A.grande : Variegated foliage
 Shade loving plant

IMPORTANCE
 Anthurium is the largest genus in the family Araceae
 Native : The genus comprises 800 species of herbaceous
perennials, inhabiting the tropical zones of central and south
America.
 Beautiful foliage plant, blooms almost continuously in good
conditions
 Growth habit : Climbing, hemi-epiphytes, terrestrial and
epiphytes.
 Uses : Cut flower, potted flowering and foliage, interiors and
cut flower arrangements.

AREAAND PRODUCTION
• Commercially grown throughout the world
• Largest growers - The US (Florida) & The Netherlands.
(> 90 ha of greenhouses)
• Potential markets - Europe, USA, Japan, West Germany,
Italy and Canada
• Reds and pinks - preferred by the USA , Orange - Japan.
• Mauritius - 2nd largest exporter – to Japan, Europe & US
• New producers: Sri Lanka, India and Ivory Coast.

PLANT MORPHOLOGY
 Perennial herbaceous plant
 Slow growing (8 leaves per year)
 Flower : Colourful modified leaf called
spathe
 Spadix : Hundreds of small spirally arranged
bisexual flowers on pencil like
structure.
 Bloom arise from leaf axil
 Blooms throughout the year.

SPECIES
FLOWERING GROUP
Anthurium andreanum
A. bakerii
A.brownie
A. regale
A. robustum
A. scherzerianum
A.ornatum

FOLIAGE
GROUP
A.clarinervium
A.corrugatum
A.crystallianum
A.magnificum
A.panduratum
A.splendidumA.veitchii

Dual purpose
group
Anthurium thompsonii
Anthurium amnicola
Anthurium ornatum
Anthurium minarum

Anthurium scherzerianum
(Pig-tail anthurium)
 Originated in Costa Rica
 Compact plant with narrow leaves
 Spathe ovate
 Spirally twisted spadix
 Grown for pot plants mainly

Stardard
Most common heart shape spathe lobes which often overlap
Sizes range from 12 x 11 to 20 x 18 cm
Colour range includes red, orange, pink, coral, white and green
Obake
Popular for their two-tone colouration usually a bicolour pattern
of green and a major spathe colour.
Some varieties will lose their green colour insummer resulting in
solid coloured spathe.
Sizes vary from 8 x 7cm miniatures to 28 x 23 cm large varieties
Types of Anthurium

Tulip
Up-right cup shaped spathes, with a straight and erect spadix.
The spathe is about 10 x 6 cm.
Tulip types are mostly hybrids with more than one species as
their parents

Important Varieties
Red : Temptation, Eureka Red, Hawaiian Red, Tropical,
Honduras.
Orange: Sunburst, Sunset orange, Diamond Jubilee,
Bonfire Orange.
White : Manoa mist, Uranus, Lima white.
Pink : Candy Queen, Abe pink, Magic pink, Paradise pink,
Passion, Peach
Obake : Madonna, President, Pistache, Choco
Green : Midori, Esmaralda
Bicoloured : Titicaca, Jewel, Akapana, Cardinal
Others : Fantasia (cream with pink veins), Chocos,
Chicos (chocolate brownish red)

CASTANO
TROPIC NIGHT CERILLA
LAGUNA

Tropical Red
Midori
Meringue
Cheers

Acropolis Lima White
Coto Paxi Grace

ANTHURIUM NET HOUSE
Shade level : 75%
Humidity : 80-90%
Temperature : 18-28°C (day), 15-22°C (night)
Light :1500-2500 fc.

Anthurium under shade net house

Protected structures
Shade net house saran shadenet house
Polyhouse

Soil - Porous, well drained, well aerated, rich in organic content
pH : 5.5 - 6.5
Pot culture : 1:1:1 - Peat : Soil : Perlite (or) Leaf mould + Cocopeat

PROPAGATION
Seed Propagation
 Seeds germinate within 10 days
 Transplanted after 4-6 months
 Takes 1½-2 years to bloom.
Stem cutting
 Top of the stem with few roots removed
and planted.
 IBA 500 ppm produce good roots.  Cut here

Suckers
 Suckers produced from base of the
plant.
 At 4-5 leaf stage with 2-3 roots
separated.
 Better to remove before they grow
into large size.
Tissue culture
 Becoming popular explants : leaf
segments, root segments, stem
section, vegetaive buds, flower
stalks, spathe & spadix; MS medium

Propagation
 Cut here
Suckers
Stem cutting
Tissue culture plants

MEDIUM
Characters of good medium
• Highly organic
• Well aerated
• Good water retention capacity
• Good drainage

Growing media
It requires a highly organic, well- aerated medium with good
water retention, high porosity, low salt concentration
Sugarcane baggase, coffee leaf mould, coconut husk, spent
ground coffee, coffee husk, cured coffee pulp, coffee parchment,
rock wool, saw dust, tree bark, brick, gravel, coco peat is the most
popular medium
A mixture of 1 part each of coir pith, leaf mould, cattle manure,
coarse sand, brick pieces, charcoal, neem cake and coconut husk
pieces is highly suitable.

Planting in the flat beds
• Soil incorporated with organic matter.
• Bed size 1.2 to 1.4m width.
• Raised beds (45 cm) to avoid water stagnation.
• Spacing : 60 x 60cm

PLANTING
 Avoid planting during seasons with high temperature and high
rainfall
 Make sure the bed/ medium is evenly moist but not wet
 Provide an initial fertilizer dose having increased potassium
and lower calcium levels.
 Dip the roots in a fungicide solution before planting (0.1%
Bavistin) .
 Plant in rows at an optimum depth (15 cm deep)

PLANTING DENSITY
 Four row planting
 Spacing - 45 x 45cm, 5 plants/m2.
30 x 30 cm, 7 to 9 plants/m2.
 At higher plant densities though Anthuriums produce more
dense planting restricts air circulation and interferes with spray
penetration
 Hence, disease and pest management becomes difficult.

IRRIGATION
 Watering twice daily in summer.
 Sprinkler or drip irrigation found to be best.
 Fertigation can be adopted
 Water – pH 5.2 and 6.2
 Mist or over head foggers to provide water and to
improve humidity.

Fertilizer Quantity (g/100m2)
Schedule ‘A’ - Weekly once
Calcium Nitrate 250
Potassium Nitrate 150
Micro nutrients 50
Schedule ‘B’ - Weekly once
Mono Ammonium phosphate 250
Potassium Nitrate 100
Magnesium sulphate 50

Nutrition
 NPK 20:20:20 @ 10-15g/plant as soil application.
 NPK @ 20 : 20 : 40 at 0.5% - spray
 Ca 5g/lit - monthly spray
 GA3 - 100 ppm

Plant growth regulator
• Increases growth, sucker production, flower yield and quality.
• Reduces juvenile phase.
• BA @ 750 mg/lit from 2nd month increases sucker production
• GA @ 1000 mg/lit induces branching and flower production.
• GA also enhance the nutrient uptake

Leaf pruning
• Helps to improve health and air circulation.
• Pruned healthy leaves - sold as cut foliage.
• Average 3-5 leaves are sufficient.
Sucker removing
• Sucker formation causes crooked stems.
• Decreases the flower size.
Replanting
• Smaller cultivars - Once in 5 years
• Larger cultivars - Once in 3-4 years

HARVEST
 Spathes completely unfurls and spadix well developed
 Flowers cut with sharp knife - leaving 3cm of stem on the plant
to prevent rotting.
 Cut ends kept in water
 Piece of cotton soaked in water wrapped around the end to
prevent desiccation.
 Spathe and spadix -inserted into a polythene cover.

Code Flower size
(inch)
Stems/box Flower size
(inch)
Stems/box
Peewee < 2.5 50 - -
Mini 2.5-3.0 40 < 3.0 60
Small 3.0-4.0 30 3.0-4.0 45
Medium 4.0-5.0 25 4.0-5.0 40
Large 5.0-5.5 18 5.0-6.0 30
Extra large 5.5-6.0 15 > 6.0 25
Premium > 6.0 8 8.0 20
GRADING

IMPROVING VASE LIFE
Pulsing
 BA 50ppm for 12 hours – delays spathe bluing & spadix necrosis.
 Pulsing with triadimefon 25ppm -8 hrs extends the vase life up to
23 days
Holding solutions
 BA at 25ppm and 8-HQC at 30ppm delays spadix necrosis, spathe
bluing and long vase life

• Flower abortion, Flower deformation and Rosette formation
 These occur under conditions in which the plant builds up a strong
root pressure that cannot be processed by the plant above ground.
 The flower spadix aborts and growth of the spathe is stunted.
 The stem - short.
Genetic dependent, prevented by restricting root pressure and
promoting plant activity.
Physiological disorders

Folder ears
 In this case the basal lobes of flowers are not fully
unfolded
 The problem probably occurs during the early stage
 The phenomenon is heavily variety dependent

Sticking
 As a result of sticking, the flower does not open
because the spathe is stuck.
 Sticking is variety dependent and occurs especially
during periods in which growth is rapid.
 A low relative humidity seems to have a negative
effect.
 During an early stage, the flowers can be loosened
somewhat by hand.

Jamming
♪ Jamming is a strong variety-dependent - frequently
occurs under arid conditions.
♪ The flower jams in the sheath, since this leaf is wound
too tightly around the flower.
♪ Humidifying the top layer of the substrate can provide a
more favourable micro-climate
♪ It occurs, more frequently in cultivars with long sheaths.

Cracks
 Cracks often occur at the sides of the spathe.
 In their most serious form, both sides could be
damaged.
 This has to do with active growth during a period
with a (temporarily) higher relative humidity.
 Optimum humidity.

Colour break down Deformed spathes

Deformed spathe Deformed spadix

Pest and Diseases
Pests
Scales
Aphids
Spider mites
Thrips
Diseases
Anthracnose
Root rot
Leaf spot
Blight
Bacterial blight
Anthracnos
e
Root rot

APHIDS
 Suck the juice from the leaves and causes yellowing and
distortion
 Control : Dimethoate (0.3%)

SCALE INSECTS
 Scale attack leaves and stems
 Weaken the plants by sucking the plant sap
 Control : Malathion (0.1 %)

MITES
 Webs on the under surface of leaves and causes
yellow mottling
 Control : Wettable sulphur (0.03 %)

THRIPS
 They cause mottling on foliage and flowers through
sucking the plant sap
 Control : Malathion (0.1%)

ANTHRACNOSE
 The spadices to rot and flowers become unmarketable
especially in high humid wether.
 Control : Bavistin (0.1%)

LEAF SPOT
 Irregular spots with brown margins on the leaves
 Control : Dithane M-45 (0.2 %)

POWDERY MILDEW
 It produces white powdery patches on the lower
surface of the leaves
 Control : benomyl (0.1 %)

ROOT ROT
 It occurs due to improper aeration
 Control : Captan (2 g/l) – Soil drench

DAMPING OFF
 It is observed in rainy season at the crown portion
of the plant
 Control : benomyl or thiophanate methyl @ 0.2 %

Anthurium - Species and Varieties - Production technology

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