INTRODUCTION |
· HELICONIAS, WHICH ARE NATIVE TO SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA, ARE POPULAR AS ORNAMENTAL PLANTS AND CUT FLOWERS BECAUSE OF THEIR BRILLIANT COLOURS AND EXOTIC APPEARANCE. THEIR ENHANCING BEAUTY HAD MADE THEM, A BEST LANDSCAPE AND AS A POTENTIAL CUT FLOWER. THE HELICONIAS EXHIBIT A WIDE ARRAY OF COLOURS LED BY RED, PINK, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN COMBINED WITH DIFFERENT SIZES AND SHAPES. |
PRODUCTION OF HELICONIA AS INTER CROP IN COCONUT |
PLANTING MATERIAL: · HELICONIAS ARE CONVENIENTLY MULTIPLIED AND PROPAGATED EASILY BY SUCKERS. EACH SUCKER PRODUCES AROUND 20-40 SIDE SUCKERS IN ONE YEAR OF PLANTING DEPENDING ON THE VARIETY. HENCE, CULTIVATION OF HELICONIA FOR PLANTING MATERIAL ALSO PROFITABLE SINCE SUCKERS ARE SOLD ANYWHERE BETWEEN RS.25 TO 250 DEPENDING UP ON THE VARIETY. A WELL GROWN SUCKER WITH SPROUT IS THE IDEAL PLANTING MATERIAL IN HELICONIA. |
SPACING AND PLANTING: · THE HELICONIAS ARE FAST GROWING PLANT WITH MORE NUMBER OF SIDE SUCKERS THERE BY DRAWING WATER AND NUTRIENTS CONTINUOUSLY FROM THE SOIL. HENCE THE SPACING SHOULD BE ADJUSTED IN A WAY THAT IT WILL NOT COMPETE WITH THE MAIN CROP I.E. COCONUT FOR WATER AND NUTRIENT. PRACTICALLY HELICONIAS CAN BE PLANTED IN ALL THE INTER SPACE OF COCONUT. BUT FOR EASY MANAGEMENT AND FLOWERING, IT IS PLANTED AT A SPACING OF 1.5×1.5M SO AS TO ACCOMMODATE 16 HELICONIA PLANTS IN FOUR COCONUTS PLANTED AT 8X8M SPACING. PIT OF 1.5-2 CUBIC FEET ARE MADE AND FILLED WITH WELL DECOMPOSED ORGANIC MANURE FOR BETTER ROOTING. IMMEDIATELY AFTER PLANTING, THE PLANTS ARE WATERED THOROUGHLY FOR BETTER ESTABLISHMENT. GENERALLY, IT TAKES ABOUT 30-45 DAYS TO GET THE SUCKER TO ESTABLISH. HENCE PERIODIC WATERING IS IMPORTANT. |
SUCKERING: · SUCKERING IS THE IMPORTANT PHENOMENON OF HELICONIA. HENCE NUTRITION HAS TO BE MAINTAINED FOR BETTER SUCKERING AND FLOWERING. GENERALLY, NUTRITION APPLICATION RATES FOR N, P, AND K OF 1.2, 0.5, 0.63 KG/M2 RESPECTIVELY GAVE MAXIMUM RESPONSE FOR A NUMBER OF VARIABLES INCLUDING FLOWER WEIGHT, LEAF AREA AND ALL VEGETATIVE CHARACTERS. THESE RATES, IN THE APPROXIMATE RATIO OF 2:1:1 APPLIED AT 3KG/M2/YEAR APPLIED IN THE BASINS OF HELICONIA PLANTS. IN ADDITION TO INORGANIC FERTILIZERS, APPLICATION OF WELL DECOMPOSED FYM OR GREEN MANURE HAS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON FLOWER AND SUCKER PRODUCTION IN HELICONIA. |
FLOWERING AND HARVESTING: · GENERALLY HELICONIA STARTS FIRST FLOWERING AT 6-8 MONTHS AFTER PLANTING DEPENDING ON THE VARIETY. THE PERFORMANCE UNDER COCONUT INDICATED THAT IT PRODUCED AROUND 10-15 FLOWERING SUCKERS/CLUMP/YEAR DEPENDING ON THE VARIETY. THE FLOWERS ARE HARVESTED WHEN 3-4 BRACTS ARE ALREADY OPEN. THE FLOWERS ARE CUT WITH AT LEAST 30-45 CM LONG STEM WITH LEAF. IF IT IS FOR LONG DISTANCE TRANSPORT, THE LEAVES ARE REMOVED AND FLOWER SPIKES ARE PROPERLY PACKED IN CFB BOXES WITH CUSHIONING MATERIAL FOR LONG DISTANCE TRANSPORT. |
YIELD AND INCOME: · ON AN AVERAGE, 600-700 PLANTS OF HELICONIA CAN BE PLANTED IN ONE HECTARE OF COCONUT PLANTATION AS INTER CROP. EACH CLUMP CAN PRODUCE 5-10 FLOWERING SUCKERS/CLUMP IN ONE YEAR. THE AVERAGE PRICE OF HELICONIA FLOWER RANGES FROM RS.5 TO RS.20 DEPENDING UPON THE VARIETY. HENCE A MINIMUM INCOME OF AROUND 25,000/HA TO MAXIMUM OF 90,000/HA CAN BE REALIZED DEPENDING UPON THE VARIETY OF HELICONIA PLANTED (FIG.6). IN ADDITION TO FLOWER, PRODUCTION OF SUCKER IS AN IMPORTANT INCOME GENERATION ACTIVITY. THE SUCKER PRODUCTION DEPENDS ON THE VARIETY AND IT RANGES FROM 15-35 SUCKERS PER CLUMP. EVEN 5-10 SUCKERS PER CLUMP HAS TO BE PERIODICALLY REMOVED TO MAINTAIN THE SPACING AND LIGHTING FOR PLANTS. HENCE, THE AVERAGE PRICE OF SUCKER IS AROUND RS.20-50 DEPENDING UPON THE VARIETY. AN AVERAGE OF RS.10/SUCKER CAN YIELD UP TO RS.50, 000/HA THROUGH SALE OF SUCKER AND IT WILL BE AN ADDITIONAL INCOME TO THE FARMERS (FIG.7). |
HELICONIA EXOTIC VARIETIES |