Greenhouse cultivation of lilium

1. GREENHOUSE CULTIVATION OF LILIUM

2. INTRODUCTION :
 Lilies are very beautiful ornamental plants with
splendid appearance and attractive shades.
 They are excellent as cut flowers and occupy 4th
position in the world cut flower trade
(Source: CBI EU Market Survey, 2004: Cut Flowers and Foliage)
 The big advantage of a greenhouse that the grower
can control the environment; lilies can be provided
with warmth and moisture and adverse weather
conditions can’t hamper the plant growth.

3. TYPES OF LILIES GROWN UNDER GREENHOUSE
Lilies, especially asiatic and oriental types are in great
demand in the international floriculture trade
Asiatic type Oriental type
-Early bloomers Late bloomers
-Usually non fragrant They are heavily scented
-Rapidly multiply Slow multiplication
-Greater color range Larger flowers
-More variance in flower
shape and bloomliness
Many Oriental lilies have
raised papillae in the petal
nectaries.

4. ASIATIC CULTIVARS:
 Connecticut king
 Gran paradiso

5.  Elite
 Prato

6.  Solemio
 Pollyana

7. ORIENTAL CULTIVARS
 White star gazer
 Marco Polo

8.  Casablanca
Apart from these easter lily( l.longiflorum var. Oscant is grown
under greenhouse.

9. GREENHOUSE STRUCTURE AND EQUIPMENT:
 Producing lilies in greenhouse requires proper kind
of greenhouse, it has to be able to provide a stable
greenhouse climate under fluctuating
conditions.temperature,air circulation,ventillation
and light are factors that have to be controlled
accurately.A standard height of 4 to 4.5 metre is
customary.this will provide sufficient room for
installing the screening,irrigation and lighting
system.the greenhouse should have aplenty of
natural light which is important during the dark
winter period.

10. HEATING SYSTEM:
 In many regions it will be necessary to have a
greenhouse equipped with an heating
system.Asiatic and LA hybrids require minimum
greenhouse temperature of 8-14 degree celcius,to
other groups require 15-16 degree celcius to
achieve these temperature,a norm of the heating
system is approximately 220 Watt/metre square of
greenhouse volume/hr to provide better heat
distribution and climate control.

11. CO2 SYSTEM
 CO2 injection benefits the growth and flowering of
longiflorum hybrids and is thus recommended since
it produces a sturdier and a greener crop. With the
help of hanging burners the gas is supplied from
the central boiler or pure CO2 injection is started
upon sunrise and can be continued for a few hours
to throughout the day on condition that the
greenhouse is closed or little ventillation is carried
out and there are sufficient light for photosynthesis.
When using assimilation lighting, CO2 injection can
be carried 24 hours a day.Keeping track of the CO2
require monitoring using a simple monitoring device

12. LIGHT EQUIPMENT
 Light is a factor in the growth and development of
the lily plant as well as its
flowering(photoperiodicity). Depending on the time
of the year, the location of the cultivation site in
relationship to the equator, the light admitted by the
greenhouse and the cultivar’s need for light, it may
be desirable or even necessary to use assimilation
lighting during the day to promote photosynthesis or
extend day length.

13. HUMIDITY
 Optimum level of Relative Humidity inside the
greenhouse should be 80to 85 %.It is important to avoid
large fluctuation in humidity levels which will cause
stress and leaf scorch in susceptible varieties

14. FORCING:
 Forcing lily flower for normal durations, the bulbs
require cold treatment at 2-40C for 6 weeks in case
of Asiatic hybrids and 8 weeks for the Oriental
ones. It is possible to use "frozen-in" bulbs which
are kept at 10C after pre-cooling treatment for off-
season flowering. A night temperature of 16 0C with
a day temperature below 21 0C inside the
greenhouse is recommended for forcing.

15. BEDDING MEDIA:
1)Soil
The soil;used for cultivation of lilies,has good
structure particularly the top layers and is also kept
well drained during the entire growing period.
Maintaining the correct pH of the soil plays a major
role in the root development and uptake of nutrients.
It is advisable to maintain a pH of6to 7 for the Asiatic
and longiflorum hybrid groups and a pH of 5.5 to 6.5
for the oriental hybrids. The Chlorine in the soil
should not exceed 1.5 mmol/lit.

16. Bed composition:
Red soil:60%
FYM:30%
Sand:10%
Rice husk:As per requirement

17. 2) COCO PEAT
 Coco peat requirement is 19kg/m2

18. PLANTING DEPTH:
Lilium bulbs should initially be planted at a depth of 6
inches. After planting and irrigation the soil will
decline about an inch. Height of the bulb is approx
one inch, which leaves four inches of soil on top of
the bulb. This is sufficient soil in which the stem roots
can develop. Shallow planting will result in poor stem
root development and hence one compromise on the
quality of the flower.Planting depth varies according
to the size of the bulb.Generally bulb should be
planted to the depth of three times more than the
diameter of the bulb

19. PLANTING DENSITY
Bulb Size( cm) Bulb/m2 Planting Distance(
cm)
8-10 49 15 X 15
10-12 42 16 X 15
12-14 36 16 X 18
14-16 36 16 X 18

20. IRRIGATION
Moisten the soil a few days before planting to enable rooting to start
straight after planting. Because thestem roots developin the top layer,it
must be kept constantly moist. The amount of water depends on type of
soil, greenhouse climate and the variety.Water requirement in
summer:6to8 lit / m2 / dayWater requirement in other season: 4 to5 lit /
m2 / dayFirst two weeks irrigation only by using water can or shower.
Third week onwards it is recommended to use drip for irrigation

21.  FERTIGATION:1)Soil:
Since lilium is a bulbous crop, most of its nutrients are already
present in the bulb itself. Lilium is a very salt sensitive crop and
therefore one should take care with applying fertilizers.
Especially in the first three weeks when the rooting takes place,
no additional fertilizers are required. Good root development is
important at this stage. It is however advisable to apply
12:61:00@ 2kg/100m2at least one week before plantation.
-Three weeks after plantation: -Calcium Nitrate @ 1 kg/100m2
-Six week after plantation : -Potassium nitrate@ 1 kg/100m2. If
plants are not strong enough during growing period due to
Nitrogen deficiency then a top dressing of Ammonium Nitrate@
1 kg/100 m2can be applied up to three weeks before harvesting

22. 2
.
NUTRIENT STANDARDS FOR COCO PEAT MEDIA:
Nutrients Standards in mmol/lit
Asiatic hybrids Oriental hybrids
Nitrogen N=(NO3,NH4) 2 3
Phosphate P 0.15 0.15
Potash K 1 1.5
Calcium Ca 1.5 1.8
Magnesium Mg 0.8 1
Sulphate SO4 1.5 1.5

23. HARVESTING
1.Always harvest the lilies at the cutting stage, i.e. 8
to 10 cm above the ground when lower first bud
shows the colour of flower.
2.Prevent the stems drying out during and after
harvesting.
3.After harvesting,stems are graded according to
number of flower buds per stem, length and firmness
of stem
4. During bunching, remove 10 cm of foliage from
the end of the stems and subsequently sleeve the
flowers

24. 4)Immediately after bunching, the cut flowers should
be placed in cold water in cold storage room at 2ºC
to3ºC. Add 2% sucrose and 100ppm GA3 as a
preservative agent to water to improve vase life of
flower
5) When dispatching lily flowers use only perforated
boxes to maintain a proper temperature
during transport.

25. DISEASES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT
Bulb and Scale rot:
Causal organism : Fungal pathogens Fusarium and
Cylindrocarpon.
Management: To avoid the disease, bulbs should be planted in
pre-sterilized soils. Bulbs should be dipped for one hour in 0.2%
Captan + 0.2% Benlate to minimize the disease infection. Also
keep the soil temperature as low as possible during the entire
period of cultivation by frequently irrigating the field.

26. DISEASES ( CONTD)
 Foot rot:
-Causal organism: Phytopthora cactorum
-Management: To control the disease, sterilize
the soil before planting the bulbs. Dithane M-
45 may be applied @ 200 g per 100 m2 as soil
drench.