Carnation Flower Found in India | Horticulture

Carnation is one of the most important cut flower of the world. It is commercially grown in many countries like Columbia, Kenya, Canary Island, Italy, Spain, Holland, U.S.A. etc. In India, earlier marguerite type of carnations were being grown as winter annual but with the introduction of Sim carnation, now these are being cultivated in many cities like Nasik, Pune, Bengaluru, Ludhiana, Solan and Shimla etc.

It is popular as cut flower on account of its exquisite shape, wide range of colours, good vase life and light in weight which makes it ideal for distant market. It is being cultivated more than 2000 years. Its common name carnation has been taken from Latin word carnation—carnis which means flesh colour on account of similarity of original colour of carnation and it is also derived from Greek word coronation as the carnation flowers which were being used in decorating the crown of Greek athletes.

Its generic word Dianthus is from Greek word. Dios which means Divine and anthos means flower. The species name caryophyllus has been given after generic name of the clove tree—Caryophyllus aromaticus which means caryon-nuts; phyllon-leaf, due to resemblance of fragrance of carnation flowers to clove.

It is native of Mediterranean region. There are 280 species of carnation and are found from Siberia to Arctic America, Japan and in Himalayas, where blooms spring when long days and congenial temperature is found. The centre of origin of carnation is considered to be spain. Some species are native to Hungary and Alps region.

Types of Carnation:

The important species which took part in the development of modern carnation are: Dianthus caryophyllud, D, chinensis, D. barbatus, D. knappii, D. plumarius, D. winteri, D. heddewigii, D. lacinatus, D. superbus, D. arenarius, D. nobilis, D. gratianopolitanum, etc.

Development of Perpetual Flowering Carnation:

Perpetual flowering carnation was a hybrid between D. caryophyllus × D. chinensis which have originated in the city of Lyons in France around 1830. This race was called “Oeillets Mayonnais” or “Oeillets de Mahon”. James Mayor bred ‘Duchess of Lancaster’ first laced pink. In this, the edge of petals is tipped with same colour as central blotch.

Montague Allwood raised a race “Allwoodii” by crossing pink with Perpetual (D. plumarius × D. gratianopolitanum) × (D. caryophyllus × D. chinesis): Another race of “Allwoodii alpinus” was developed by crossing Allwoodii with dwarf species i.e. D. alpinus, D. arenarius and D. superbus. It is a race of dwarf plants producing pink or purple flowers. Other colours, however, lacked. C.H. Fielden raised a race of pinks which was called as lancing pinks.

It was a result of crossing between Allwoodii with D. winteri. The plants were having longer flowering period. A French breeder M. Dalmais crossed an “Oeillet de Mahon” with ‘Bisbon’-border carnation and the resultant was true perpetual. Stocks of these types were introduced in America in 1852. An early breeder Donati developed ‘Victor Emmanuel’ in 1860 which was a yellow ground Picottee and became a parent of subsequent varieties of this colour.

Another breeder of America, Peter Fisher developed an important variety “Mrs. Thomas Lawson” in 1895 by crossing ‘Day Break’ with ‘Van Leeuwen’. This was commonly used as parents of later varieties. Another important cultivar of Peter Fisher’s was the ‘Enchantress’—large pale pink, handsome flowers but male and female sterile.

In due course of time stocks from France and America were introduced in England and ‘Winter Cheer’, ‘Miss-Jolliffee, important cultivars were released by James Veitch nursery. ‘Winter Cheer’ despite of its name was not practically floriferous in the winter month but was compact with good scarlet flower. It was further crossed with ‘Mrs. T.W. Lawson’ in 1904 and hybrid released was ‘Britannia’, a scarlet.

The cultivar ‘William Sim’ produced in 1938 or 1939 by William Sim of North Berwick. Maine, USA, was the greatest contribution to the carnation industry. Many periclinal chimeras have been isolated in white, red, pink, orange, yellow, salmon, tinted etc. Important varieties are Arthur Sim—white with red tinted: White Sim—White; William Sim—red; Scania—red; Crowley Sim—Pink; Pink Sim—Pink; Harvest Moon— Yellow; Laddie—salmon pink; Aleck’s Spark—red; Dusty Sim—salmon pink; Tangerine— orange; Yellow Sim—yellow; Joker—crimson.

In England also, number of good cultivars has been developed. Important cvs are: Bailey’s Splendour—pink; Bailey’s Supreme— salmon pink; Bailey’s Masterpiece—Crimson; Rose Splendour—rose cerise; La Royale— magenta; Bailey’s Amarillo—pastel shade of cream. These Sim type carnations are standard type excellent cut flower and dominating in commercial cultivation in the world. However, the Sim strains have low disease tolerance and do not produce profuse branches.

Another class of spray type was being developed simultaneously to save the labour employed for pinching and disbudding in standard carnation. The raiser was Mr. W. Thompson in Connecticut, America who developed Exquisite variety as first spray type carnation and Elegance was another good sport. Number of other spray types was produced in course of time.

Development of Marguerite Type Carnation:

Marguerite type carnations were developed by crossing D. chinensis x D. caryophyllus, show a remonant quality, have broader and green leaves. These are raised through seeds as winter annual in India. Wide range of colours is available.

Development of Malmaison Type:

In 1857 a Monssie Lassie was raising seeds of perpetual carnations and out of them, few seedlings bore flowers which were markedly larger and more handsome than previous cultivars. It was named ‘Souvenir de La Malmaison’. The pollen production this cultivar was very scanty and was not viable. Three more bud sports were selected.

‘Princess of Wales’ malmaison was an excellent. ‘Marmion’ another white with red edge malmaison was produced by Burnett in 1906. Martin Smith crossed original malmaison with border carnation and produced ‘Mrs. Martin Smith’ which was five feet high and had flowers of spectacular size. They were called tree carnation. However, flowers were produced very sparingly.

Development of Royal Carnation:

Mr. Allwood was successful in combining the malmaison with perpetual carnation in 1951 and race was called as ‘Royal carnation’. An important cv. ‘Royal Fancy’ was developed which gave rise to a number of large perpetual flowering. In U.S.A. ‘White Perfection’ another important cultivar was raised. It was further crossed with ‘Brittania’, which gave rise to ‘Wivel’s field’—White, which became very popular.

New Trend of Modern Carnation:

To save the cost of labour required for pinching, disbudding, staking, tieing etc., miniature carnations are being preferred. Such varieties should be fast cycling and more productive. Stem may be shorter and flower somewhat smaller but are produced in great profusion so that these types could be used for mass market bouquets. Demmink (1982) raised a new group of glass house carnations.

These are characterized by compact growth and smaller flowers. D. chinensis, D. pencicii and D. pontederae were the parents which were used. Recently F₁ knight series have been developed by Gold Smith. These are compact plants having 25-30 cm stem length but produce 15-20 flowers per stem.

Dwarf carnation will be a future crop for pots. Different race of carnation i.e., micro carnation has been developed which produce button like flowers in large quantity i.e., about 1000/sq. m. Very recently there is a development of ‘Pico’ variety.

Varieties:

Carnation is very rich in its varietal wealth. Every year large number of superior Varieties than existing ones is being introduced in the trade by the breeders. Hence, carnation grower has to be very vigilant about new promising introductions in the market.

Before 1970, in Indian gardens mostly Marguerite, Riveria Giant and Royal type of carnation were grown as winter annual. These flowers hardly find their utility in the market as cut flower. After introduction of Sim carnation, earlier types have been replaced by them completely and these are grown for cut flower production because these are rich in colour, long stem, bigger size and good vase life.

During 1970-90, the common varieties which were being grown by carnation growers were: Scania, Arthur Sim, White Sim, William Sim, Shocking Pink, Tangerine, etc.

Performance of Sim Cultivars:

Ten sim cvs. showed varying response to the growing environments under the open field conditions of Punjab. Periods from planting to peak flower production varied from 160 days to 175 days, cv. Shocking pink was the earliest to reach peak production while cv. Scania took two weeks more for its peak production.

Average stem length and diameter of cut flowers observed at full anthesis stage ranged 46-48 cm and 6.7 to 8.4 cm, respectively. Yield of cut flowers per plant for a single cropping from October to March varied from 5.3 to 6.7. Calyx splitting was common in all the cultivars and varied from 10.3 per cent to 15.7 per cent. These differences might be due to interaction between environment and genotypes (Table 7.1).

During 1990-1996, the new varieties were introduced which started replacing earlier varieties. These varieties are Red Corso, Limara, Espana, Manner, Razziode Sole, and Alec’s Spark.

The performance of these cvs. is as follows:

During 1996-97, the varieties which have been introduced are: Master (Red), Laurella (Pink), Venesse (Pink), Gelatea (yellow), Corella (Magenta), Kelley (White), etc. and are performing well.

Climate and Soil:

Carnation does not like extreme of temperature and has been classified as cool crop. The ideal range of temperature for carnation is considered to be 10-20°C and exposure of plant to 7°C favours development of branches.

Sun light for 12 hours and humidity in the range of 50-60% is considered very favourable for growth of plants as well as flower development. High cost of green-house production of carnation has forced to grow it in natural areas which are located near 4° N or south of equator at higher altitude (2000 m).

Root system of carnation is very shallow and fibrous and hence it prefers porus loose and friable soil. It should be rich in organic matter, high in fertility and slightly acidic in nature, having 6-7 pH. Therefore, sandy loam soils, high in fertility is mostly preferred for its successful growing.

Propagation:

Annual carnation is propagated through seeds whereas perennial carnation is propagated through terminal cuttings. These cuttings should be healthy, vigorous, free from diseases and should be weighing about 16 g. After rooting, such cuttings produce healthy plants. Weak cuttings do not make healthy plants.

Stock plants established during October starts yielding cuttings from January and yield about 20-24 cuttings till April. For better rooting, carnation cuttings need hormonal treatment with 500 ppm NAA for five minutes and high humidity. High percentage of rooting is observed in cool months than summer months. River sand mixed with burnt rice husk mixed in equal proportion is better than alone sand or burnt rice husk or vermiculite.

Un-rooted cuttings of carnation can be stored from April to September in the cold storage when stored in unsealed plastic bags in card boxes at 0-1°C. Successful carnation plants are raised from such stored cuttings, carnation is also multiplied through micro propagation technique on large scale. A well-developed tissue culture laboratory is required for this purpose.

Preparation of Land and Planting of Carnation:

Commercial production of carnation is done in container system of planting. For this raised beds (30 cm.) above the ground are prepared of the size of 1 m × 10 m with work aisels of 60 cm supported by bricks on all sides. Soil media having 3 parts sandy loam and 1 part well rotten farm yard manure is considered good.

After mixing of desired fertilizers, this container should be sterilized with formalin or through solarization by using black polyethylene. The rooted cuttings planted in sterilized beds give better performance than unsterilized one. Carnation plants should not be planted either too shallow or too deep and it should be planted in the same depth as it was in nursery.

Carnation plants require optimum spacing for better growth and flowering. Wider spacing’s or lesser density per unit area forces growers to manage larger area and thus increasing the cost of production. It has been experienced that closer spacing i.e. 15 × 15 cm or 20 × 15 cm produces taller plants and highest flower production than wider spacing.

Manuring:  

Balanced and regular supply of nutrients to carnation plants helps in better growth and flower production because carnation plants make a good reserve for N during tufting stage which is utilized during flowering. Tissue analysis reflects the uptake and distribution of minerals by plants and a relationship between absorbed nutrients and growth exists. Fifth pair of leaves from terminal end of primary shoots is considered best for sampling until the flower bud visible on these shoots.

At the time of flowering sampling of 5th pair is done from side shoots. The N, R K, content of carnation plants throughout the cycle approximates 1:0.5: 1.5. Relationship between leaf N, P and K and flower production shows that highest number of flowers are produced when 5.27:0.31: 3.8% N:P: K, present in leaves, respectively. However, the range for N:P: K varies 3.2-5.2: 0.2-0.3: 2.5-6.0, respectively.

Results of a fertilizer trial on carnation cv. Marguerite Scarlet in which three levels of N (0, 20 and 40 g/m²), P₂O₅ (0, 10 and 20 g/m²) and K₂O (0, 30 and 60 g/m²) along-with 5 kg well rotten farm yard manure show that application of 10, 10 and 30 g/m² of N, P₂O₅ and K₂O, respectively proved beneficial in terms of growth and flower production.

Application of N into three split doses i.e., 1/3 before transplanting, 1/3 one month after transplanting and 1/3 after one month of second application. By many specialized carnation growers, carnation crop is being fertigated with potassium nitrate, calcium ammonium nitrate, superphosphate and magnesium sulphate @ 765, 156, 848 g/1000 liter of water, respectively.

Irrigation, weeding and hoeing:

Carnation needs regular supply of moisture due to shallow root system. Thus, soil is kept wet throughout the cropping period. However, common practice is to give heavy irrigation followed by dryness before next irrigation. Frequency of irrigation is determined by soil texture and growing environment of the plants.

Generally two irrigations per week from August to October and thereafter once in 10 days interval till end of February. Irrigation once a week or at an interval of 3-4 days during March to July proved sufficient to keep the bed moist. Carnation plantation should be kept clean and weed free. In early stage of plantation, unchecked weeds compete both nutrient and moisture affecting growth.

Application of fluchloralin @ 0.96 kg/ha or pendimethalin 30% @ 0.90 kg/ha is very effective in controlling most of the weeds. These weedicides are used as pre plant and their incorporating in ground will keep plantation free up to 80 days. After 80 days carnation plants grow sufficiently leaving no place for weed growth. Hoeing is followed in early stage of plantation to provide good aeration to the root system.

Staking, Pinching and Disbudding:

Carnation is a leggy plant and it breaks very easily from swollen nodes. After planting, it grows straight about 25-30 cm high. Branches are not produced for some time due to inhibitory effect of apical bud. The plants tend to lodge and may easily be broken from nodal region, if suitable support is not provided.

Carnation blooms are valued for their upright long stems and hence support is required for their entire growth period. Depending upon duration of crop 2-3 grid support structure is provided. First grid is provided 20 cm and second at 35 cm above the ground. Three heavy supports in the end of both sides of bed are provided. Wire and strings are commonly used to make a support network for the plants.

Wire is run through length of bed and string is run across the bed besides each row of plants. Flowering stems exert lot of pressure being heavy; hence, these should be stretched tightly. These days ready-made plastic nets especially made for carnation are available and are being used by specialized carnation growers. These plastic nets are raised to desirable height as the plants attain height.

The pinching of carnation plants is a regular practice which is done to increase the number of branches, flower and ultimately profit to grower. Due to pinching flowering get delayed so it helps in regulating the crop also. Pinching is done leaving 6 pairs of basal leaves which are inductive. There are many kinds of pinching which are being followed by growers keeping advantages and disadvantages of each in view.

In pull type pinching apical bud is pulled whereas in single pinch, apical portion measuring 5-7 cm is pinched off. In single and half pinch, after following single pinch of main shoot half of the side branches are pinched off. In double pinching, after following pinching of main shoot, all the secondary branches are pinched off.

It is the habit of carnation plant when apical bud on shoot develops into flower bud, basal axillary buds and shoots start developing into flower buds. Thus many flower buds develop and if they are allowed to develop all, the flower size of main bud will get reduced.

Therefore, in standard carnation only main bud is retained and others are removed when they are large enough (pea size). Lot of labour is involved in disbudding and thus cost of production of standard carnation gets increased. In spray or miniature carnations disbudding is not followed and shoots look like readymade bouquets. Therefore, these are preferred by many florists/growers.

Harvesting, Grading and Packing:

Carnation plants produce cut blooms after 16 to 20 weeks and it varies according to pinching method followed. But harvesting when 1.25 to 2.5 cm of petal show colour with stem as long as possible is considered ideal stage for distant markets whereas for local retailers, flowers are harvested when they reach 3/4 stage of anthesis. Harvesting is done by hand as flowers are easily broken from the node.

These flowers are immediately placed in clear water to a depth of half to two-third in length of the stem. Foliage at the bottom half of the stem are removed. Preconditioning of cut flowers in solution of silver thiosulphate (mM) is an important practice to avoid ethylene injury and prolonging life. Standard carnations are graded according to length, strength of stem and flower size.

According to Society of American Florists’, flowers were graded as follows:

The grades and standard developed by the European Economic Community are as follows:

Carnation flowers being light in weight are mostly preferred for distant market and it is being marketed by air. After harvesting, it is maintained under cool chain throughout till retailed. Standard carnations are bunched into 25 stems per bunch with 24, 28, 32 bunches per box according to grade.

Spray carnations are bunched into 5 stems per bunch and placed in plastic sleeve with 100 sleeves per telescopic corrugated board carton with lid of 120 × 46 × 25 cm size. Precooled cartons for 2 hrs. at 0°C and at-least 95% humidity are shipped for destinations.

Important Insect-Pests and Diseases:

Insect-Pests:

Aphids (Myzus persicae):

They suck the sap from the leaves, and leave sticky deposits on leaves and disfigure the young growth. It can be successfully controlled by spraying rogor or thiodan (1 ml/l).

Thrips (Thrips tabaci):

These are sucking insects; suck the sap, causing leaves turn to yellow and patchy often with black specks and slight crinkling. It can also be controlled by spraying rogor or thiodan (1 ml/l).

Red spider mites (Tetranychus uriticae):

The mites feed on the underside of the leaves, suck the sap and finally leave turn yellow and have a dusty coating and fine webs. Plants become stunted and flowers are also disfigured under heavy infestation. Its attack is very common during hot months and dry season. It can be controlled by spraying Rogor (2.5-3 ml/l)

Gram hairy caterpillar (Helicouerpa armigera):

Eggs are laid on carnation plants. Larvae bore flower bud of carnation and eat away petals and reproductive parts. Buds may develop into full flower from damaged flower. It can be controlled by Eka lux or quinaltaf@ 1 ml/l).

Diseases:

Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum dianthii):

It is very devastating disease and appear during hot weather associated with high humidity. If not controlled, cause huge losses. Main symptoms are comprised of yellowing of leaves and wilting of entire plants in very short period. Fungus is soil borne, therefore, sterilization of soil is very essential. Spot application of 0.2% Bavistin also helps in checking the spread of disease. Fusarium wilt tolerant varieties should be selected.

Alternaria leaf spot (Alternaria dianthii):

It is very common foliage disease. The fungus causes black spots on leaves and stems and finally leaves wilt and dies prematurely. It can be controlled by spraying 0.2% captan.

Bacterial wilt (Pseudomonas caryophylli):

Its symptoms are similar to fusarium wilt, however in this disease; a sticky substance oozes out from stem and roots. The control measure is similar to fusarium wilt.

Physiological Disorder:

Calyx splitting:

It is very common in double carnation and determines the quality. The petals during opening exert pressure on calyx tube which support the base of petals and cause splitting of calyx. There are various causes like genetical, nutritional, environmental and cultural practices. It is generally believed that irregular temperature during flowering is mainly responsible for this malady.