Anthurium : The Flamingo Flower

Parth Mangroliya
M.Sc. (Research Scholar),
Dep. of floriculture and Landscape Arch.
ASPEE College of Horti. Agri. University, Navsari.

Ronak Mangroliya
Assistant Professor
College of Agriculture
Parul University Vadodara

Yash Desai
Ph.D. (Research Scholar),
Department of Fruit Science,
ASPEE College of Horti, Agri. University, Navsari.

Anthurium is a herbaceous tropical plant that belongs to the Araceae family and is well-known for its brilliant, long-lasting distinctive flowers and gleaming foliage. It is also a fantastic plant for interiors and as a cut flower, particularly for floral arrangements. The most suited section of anthurium is a variation of the leaf and botanically known as ‘spathe’. The heart-shaped spathe grows on a tall flower stalk with a charming spadix. It is produced as a perennial crop with an economic bearing duration of 7-8 years and a gestation period of one year.

There are around 600 species in the genus anthurium. Anthurium andreanum and A. scherzianum are the most popular and important species for their magnificent inflorescence, whereas A. magnificium, A. digitatum, A. crystallinum, A. watermaliense, A. clarinervium, and A. hookeri have been identified for their superb foliage. A. andreanum is also known as the Oil Cloth Flower, Tail Flower and Painter’s Palette.

Types of anthuriums
Standard: These are common heart-shaped spathe lobes measuring 12 x 11 to 20 x 18 cm in size.
Obake: These are two-toned, with a bi-color effect of green and a major spathe hue. Summer green colour loss occurs in several cultivars. Spathe sizes range from 8 x 7 cm to 28 x 23 cm.
Tulip: They are upright cupped, and the spadix is straight and erect. The spathe is approximately 10 x 6 cm in size. The majority of these are hybrids.
Qualities of an ideal anthurium cultivar

The plant should be compact and produce copious amounts of suckers. Spathes should be brightly colored, showy, heart-shaped, with plenty of blisters and symmetrical basal lobe overlapping. The spadix should develop reclining to the spathe, shorter in length than the spathe, and at a less than 30° angle. A flower stalk that is erect and about five times the length of the spathe is ideal. Resistance to common pests and diseases should be present in the plant.

Growing media
It requires a medium that is highly organic, well-aerated, and has strong water retention. However, cultivation is successful in medium with good drainage. An appropriate medium for pots or ground potting should have a high porosity, low salt content, good anchoring, a pH of 5.0-6.5 and less than 1.0 EC. Rock wool, saw dust, tree bark, chicken manure, coco peat, perlite, vermiculite, coconut husk and other materials have been utilized in the past. The best medium for epiphytic anthuriums has been discovered to be coconut husk with charcoal.

Environment condition
Temperature: Anthuriums are tropical plants so temperatures lower than 15°C and above 30°C should be avoided. For better growth and development, it is important to maintain average temperatures of 20 to 24° C.

Light: Anthuriums are shade loving plants. During summer when the light intensity is more, plants are provided shade with 65 to 75 per cent black net. The optimum light intensity that suits is 20000 to 25000 lux.

Humidity: The optimum relative humidity levels range from 60 to 80 percent and at humidity levels less than 40 per cent, the vegetative growth is slower and the flower development is poor. It can be maintained by overhead sprinklers, misting and foggers.
CO2: Enrichment of CO2 improved and advanced plant growth and increased the market value. A concentration of 600-900 ppm proved beneficial.

Protected structures
The growth structures can be adjusted to fit the local climatic conditions, depending on the location of cultivation. Building a proper structure that provides a perfect growing environment, including light, temp­erature, and humidity, is critical for commercial anthurium production. To avoid disease infestation, enough air circulation is required. A greenhouse with 50-75% shade material provides an optimal environment, albeit this is primarily dependent on the intensity of natural light. The crop is grown both beneath a shade net (with a rain helter) and in a greenhouse.

Propagation
Anthuriums are commonly propagated by seeds, suckers, and cuttings. Micro-propagation has also been used for commercial production of planting material in recent years.

Anthurium seeds: It can be produced relatively readily; however the procedure is extremely sluggish. The seed is surrounded with juicy, mucilaginous pulps, which must be thoroughly removed before seeding. It requires more time.

Suckers: Anthurium suckers generate 3-4 strong roots and 4-5 leaves and are easily propagated. It is possible to detach and plant it.
Terminal cuttings: Rooted in intermittent mist are also used to propagate it. Cuttings with a single node or a basal node can also be successfully rooted.

Micropropagation: Anthuriums are replicated very quickly using tissue culture techniques, and bloom production has been found to be higher than that of other plants.

Planting
Plants should be properly spaced in beds if they are to be planted. Row and plant spacing should be 40 x 40 cm and 30 x 30 cm, respectively. One acre can hold approximately 40000 plants.

In the case of bed planting, a 1.2 m wide plastic or other material bed with drainage holes of 30 cm height might be employed. It can hold 4 rows of 30×30 centimetre plants. A 50 cm path between two beds is maintained. Shallow clay pots (10-inch diameter) with side holes can be used for pot planting. Avoid planting during season with high temperature and rainfall. Provide an initial fertilizer dose having increased K and Ca levels. Dip the roots in fungicide solution before planting (0.1 % carbendazim). Plant in rows in cross wise pattern at an optimum depth (15 cm) so that new aerial roots appear above the planting surface.

Irrigation
Anthuriums demand a lot of water. Watering should be done often in the spring and summer, but the surface soil should be allowed to dry out between repeated waterings throughout the winter. Water with an EC of less than 1.0 and a pH of 5.2-6.2 is excellent. Anthuriums require two litres of water per square metre every day when watered with online drippers.

The amount of water required by plants is determined by the environment, the substrate, and the age of the crop. In general, 2-3 litres of water are required per square metre.

Nutrition
Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, and Sulphur are essential nutrients for anthurium. Anthurium prefers smaller fertiliser doses at frequent intervals over bigger doses over longer intervals. Anthuriums can also absorb fertilisers efficiently through their leaves. A monthly foliar treatment of 0.1 percent urea is good. Young plants can be treated twice a week with a fertiliser combination containing a greater nitrogen ratio, i.e., 3:1:1 (NPK) at 0.2%. It is preferable to limit the amount of nitrogen applied to flowering plants to enhance the post-harvest longevity of the flower. It has been discovered that using a 1:1:2 NPK combination of 2-3 g/l twice a week is useful. Under greenhouse circumstances, anthuriums are sprayed with a solution containing 14 ppm nitrogen and 176 ppm potassium.

Leaf pruning
An anthurium plant has to be pruned to retain an adequate number of leaves, without any adverse effect on the flower production and quality. This facilitates good plant health in view of better air circulation. Pruned leaves that are healthy can also be sold as cut foliage.

Diseases and pests
Anthurium plants are extremely sensitive to several insecticides and fungicides. Hence, great care for diseases and pests management. Some diseases and pests are given below.
Bacterial blight: Initial symptoms are the appearance of small scattered angular water-soaked spots near the margins of leaves. The infected tissues will be killed very soon and there will be a bright yellow halo around the spot. Strict sanitation should be maintained and spray the plants thoroughly with streptomycin sulphate or oxytetracycline. (0.5 to 1.0 g/l) on a weekly schedule for about six weeks. In case of severe infection, spray streptocycline (0.01%) with C.O.C (0.2%) at weekly intervals.

Anthracnose (spadix rot): The fungus primarily infects individual f lowers in the spadix. Infection starts as tiny dark spots which expand to triangular or other angular shapes. Badly affected plant parts must be removed and destroyed. Spray propiconazole (1 ml/ltr) or mancozeb (0.25%) for effective control of this disease.

Nematodes, scales, mealy bugs, thrips and mites are common pests of anthurium. Nematodes are better controlled by disinfecting the culture medium. Against scale insects, which attack stem and leaves, wiping the affected parts with cotton wool soaked in Malathion 0.2 per cent is effective. Malathion (0.2%) or Fipronil (0.1%) can control aphids and thrips. Snails and slugs appear during the rainy season and are difficult to control. Metaldehyde based baits are effective to control snails and slugs. Mites can be controlled by spray of Dicofol (0.2%).

Harvesting and yield
The flowers are plucked when the spathe has finished unfolding and the spadix has changed colour by more than half (two-thirds). They are gathered early in the morning and have lengthy stalks. To prevent drying out, the basal portion of the flower stalk is kept in water as soon as possible after harvest. To avoid desiccation, a piece of cotton soaked in water is put at the end of the stem if the flowers are transported to distant marketplaces. Under ideal conditions, each plant produces approximately 7-8 blossoms per year.

Post harvest management
Pulsing: Anthurium flowers are pulsed before shipment to lengthen their holding period. Pulsing BA 50ppm for 12 hours has been shown to postpone the onset of spathe bluing and spadix necrosis in anthurium flowers. This treatment also aids in the retention of spathe shine. Anthurium blooms can be kept at 13°C for 2-3 weeks.

Packaging: To prevent bruising, soft protective materials can be placed between the spathe and spadix. The spathe and spadix are then placed in a polythene cover of the right size. This will avoid injuries on the spathe caused by the pressure of the spadices of adjacent spikes, which causes blacking.

The flowers should be spotlessly clean and shiny. They are packed in cardboard boxes of size 60cmx30cmx23cm. A box of this size can hold 70-100 flowers.