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Today is :
Archives (2001)
New management techniques
for exportable foliage plants
by Thea Kristina M. Pabuayon |
October-December
2001
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The demand for ornamental products abroad is
greater than ever, with major markets of US, Japan, and Europe
increasing their annual consumption by 4% to 6% annually.
The local producers still have to take advantage of this opportunity
and produce quality foliage plants that can be imported to
these markets.
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| "Gold" (Dracaena sanderiana)
grown under partial shade/greenhouse condition.
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To help local growers achieve this, Amelia Nicdao
and Herminigilda Gabertan of the Bureau of Plant Industry-Los
Baños National Crop Research and Development Center
in collaboration with the Philippine Council for Agriculture,
Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development-Department
of Science and Technology (PCARRD-DOST) led the project on
"Cultural Management of Exportable Foliage Plants,"
which consequently won an AFMA Best R&D Paper Award for
the Unpublished Category at the 2001 National Research Symposium
held from 2-5 Oct.
The researchers collected, propagated and evaluated
various cut foliage materials from top ornamental farms around
the country and recorded their response to different levels
of nitrogen fertilizer, plant spacing, time of pruning, and
percent shade. The researchers found that three exportable
foliage plants responded well in the open field. These are:
D. marginata (tricolor), P. reflexa (Song of India), and M.
paniculata (Kamuning). In partial shade conditions, results
showed that these plants thrive well: M punctatum (Polypodium),
D. sanderiana (Gold), and D. godseffiana (Florida Beauty).
Recommended production
technologies
Tricolor
Researchers found that planting tricolor with a spacing of
40 cm between hills and 50 cm between rows plus a nitrogen
treatment of 60-0-0 kg per hectare allow the plant to produce
at least 55,670 shoots - a far cry from the 18,670 shoots
produced by unfertilised plants. This combination can give
a return of investment (ROI) rate of 41.78% or a net benefit
of P31,340 per hectare.
Song of India
A nitrogen rate of 120-0-0 kg per hectare ensures plant growth
to at least 100 cm which is 50% taller than unfertilised plants.
For calcium fertilizers, the researchers recommend 20 grams
per pot.
Kamuning
The researchers recommend a 50-0-0 kg nitrogen per hectare
requirement for Kamuning and a planting distance of 1 x 1
m. This combination allows the plant to grow to 121.3 cm which
is 33.05 cm taller than unfertilised plants. For calcium fertilizers,
researchers recommend 20 grams per pot to allow the plants
to grow to at least 115.15 cm. The researchers also recorded
a significant improvement in the number of leaves of the plant
with an application rate of 5 grams nitrogen per plant at
0 calcium, and 5 grams nitrogen at 7.5 grams calcium per plant.
These combinations will allow growers to have an ROI rate
of 41.42% and 40%, respectively.
For partial shade foliage plants, these are
the recommended light and fertilizer requirements:
Polypodium
A 50-70% shade and 10-20 grams of fertilizer per plant will
significantly increase the plant's height, allowing it to
grow from 58.43 cm to 60.18 cm. Moreover, researchers found
that a fertilizer treatment of 10 g nitrogen per plant or
50% shade will give the plant more leaves at 56 and 45, respectively.
Gold and Florida Beauty
For both plants, a 70% and 30%-70% shade requirement was found
to be effective in increasing their height, while both performed
best at 10-30 grams per plant fertilizer treatments. A 43.21%
ROI can be achieved for Florida Beauty with a fertilizer application
of 20 grams nitrogen per plant under 30% shade. 
(Source: Cultural Management of Exportable
Foliage Plants by Amellia M. Nicdao and Herminigilda Gabertan
from BPI-LBNCRDC. For more information, you may contact the
researchers at (049)536-0285/536-0104 or email them at bpi.eg98@laguna.net ;
orbpi-ocd@laguna.net)
More Articles:
Vol. 3 No. 4 October-December 2001
»»
Outstanding technologies identified in nat'l R&D week
»» Thailand,
Philippines convene for agri cooperation
»»
Prospects for the ornamental industry in the new millennium
»» UPLB
scientists develop new hybrids of Philippine ornamentals
»» New management
techniques for exportable foliage plants
»» In
focus: a date with the "king of cut flowers"
»» Brighten
your homes with aglaonema
»» King
in red and green
»» Cashing
in with the 'lucky bamboo'
»» Turfgrasses:
the preferred ground cover
»» Catching
the invisible enemy with ELISA
»» Grow
dracaena godseffiana the easy way
»» Bromeliads:
the exotic plant
»» Wag that
fish-tail fern
»» Mass
propagating the 'doņas' through kulob system
»» Beauveria
mold bioinsecticide: safer control against orchid pests
»» Orchids
and mycorrhiza: a lesson from the wild
»» Controlling
white rust in chrysanthemums
»» Ways to
enhance palm seed germination
»» Prolonging
the vase life of cut flowers with ethylene adsorbent and Florafresh
»»
Mass producing the fragrant kamuning
»» The
national RDE program for ornamental crops
»» GMA
presents 2001 Gawad Saka awards
[More
2001 Articles]
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