PRECISION FARMING

OF MARIGOLD
MARIGOLD
• Scientific name : Tagetes sp.
• Family : Asteraceae
• It is an important traditional flower crop under cultivation throughout
India.
• It is extensively used in religious and social functions in different
forms.
• Marigold is widely grown in gardens and pots for display purpose.
• It has great economic potential in loose flower which find industrial
application in preparation of natural dyes and essential oils.
• It is used as mosquito and nematode repellents.
• Nowadays,Xanthophyll pigments gained economic interest as a feed
additive for poultry industry to improve the pigmentation of broiler
skin and the egg yolk.
• Lutein is also used in preparation of eye ailments.
• Precision production technology for cultivation of African Marigold
for the L3 hybrid was standardized at Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University through the ICAR-NAIP project.
Species

1. Tagetes erecta -African marigold. Flowers are single to fully double

with large globular heads. The florets are either 2-lipped or quilled.
Flower colour varies from lemon yellow to yellow, golden yellow
or orange.
2. Tagetes patula -French marigold. Flowers are small, either single or
double borne on proportionately long peduncles. The flower colour
varies from yellow to mahogany red.
 Tagetus erecta Tagetus patula
African marigold French marigold
Tagetus tenuifoila/ T.signata
Signet marigold
Tagetus minuta
Tagetus lacera
Wild marigold
 Tagetus lucida
Sweet scented marigold Tagetus lemonii
Varieties – African marigold
NBRI Lucknow varieties:
Pusa Narangi Gainda Pusa Basanti Gainda
Pusa Bahar IIHR Bangalore varieties
Arka Bangara
Arka Alankara Arka Agni
Climax
Toreader
Jubilee
 Other varieties
Vanilla improved hybrid
Moonsong Deep Orange
Inca 2nd Gold
Varieties – French marigold
NBRI Lucknow varieties:
Pusa Arpita
Rusty Red Butter scotch
Red Brocade Valencia
 Soil requirement

• Marigold can be successfully cultivated on a wide variety of

soils.
• Soil that is deep, fertile, friable having good water holding
capacity, well drained.
• pH of 7.5 is ideal for Marigold cultivation.
• Saline and alkaline soils are not suitable for Marigold
cultivation.
 Climate

• It requires continuous warm climate, and extreme hot and

cool condition are not good for its growth.
• It grows well in all seasons.
• The optimum temperature required for its growth is 15 to
21°C.
 Soil preparation

• Ploughing 2-3 times the field

• Incorporate 12 tones of well decomposed farmyard manure
per hectare
• Ridges and furrows are made to facilitate irrigation and other
cultural operations
 Planting material and propagation
• Marigold is commercially propagated by seeds.
Seed propagation :
• 18 to 30 degree required for germination
• Seed rate- 1.5kg/ha
• F1 hybrids- 200 g/ha
• Treat the seeds with azospirillum(200g in 50ml of rice gruel)
before sowing
By cutting,

• Mostly to maintain purity of varieties

• Presence of adventitious roots along the stem helps in
establishment of cuttings
• 10cm long cuttings treated with IBA
• Planted in the sand to strike roots easily
 Nursery preparation

• The seedlings are raised in portrays

• Protrays (54*27cm) with 98 cells of 3.5cm diameter and
8mm thickness is ideal
• Filled with media (sterilizes cocopeat 500kg + neem cake
10kg )+ Azospirillum and phosphobacteria (each @2kg)
Seed treatment:
• Azospirillum @ 20g/kg- shade dried ( ½ hour)

Drenching:
• Drenching with 0.2% of 19:19:19 fertilizer, 0.5% FeSO4,
0.5% ZnSO4- 15 days after sowing

Seedling treatment:
• 0.5% solution of Pseudomonas flurescens
 Transplanting
• Seeds are transplanted within 18-20 days
• Transplant shoulde be done early in the morning or late in the
evening
• After transplanting, a light irrigation has to be given

Spacing -90*22.5cm – 44,400 plants/ha

 Irrigation
• Drip irrigation once in 2 days
• Two laterals placed at the centre of each bed + emmiters with
discharge rate of 4 lph at a spacing of 30cm
• Water stagnation should be avoided
Fertigation schedule- once in 5 days
 FERTILIZER APPLICATION
• 75% of the total recommended dose of NPK (67.5: 67.5:
56.25 kg/ha) is applied through drip irrigation
• Water soluable fertilizers viz., urea polyfeed(19:19:19) and
potassium nitrate are used
• Micronutrients application- foliar application of FeSO4 @
0.5% and ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at 30 and 45 days after
transplanting
Weeding :
• Pre-emergance herbicide- pendimethalin @ 1kg a.i/ha

Pinching:
• 25 to 30 days after transplanting

Disbudding :
• 30 days after transplanting
Nipping or tipping:
• Twenty days after trans planting terminal portion should be
tipped / removed to encourage the branching.
Application of biostimulants :
• Foliar application of humic acid @ 0.25% and sea weed
extract 0.25% at 30 and 45 days after transplanting

Application of biocontrol agents:

• Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis 0.5%- five
times at fortnightly intervals
 Flowering

• Summer : flowering from May upto rainy season.Peak

flowering is in June
• Rainy : middle of September and continue till December
• Winter: middle of January and continue till March
Harvest :
• Once in 3 days beginning from 60 days after planting
• Harvest when flowers at full size
• Harvesting either in the morning or evening
• Field should be irrigated before harvesting so that, flowers
keep well for longer period after plucking
• Productivity of plants increases considerably by regular
plucking of flowers
Yield:
• Average of 35.74 t/ha

Xanthophyll content:
• 1.99g/kg of fresh flowers
 Plant protection- pest
Mealy bug:
Damage symptoms:
• Mealy bugs are crowdly present in young shoots, stem and
leaves
• Flattening and crinkled with dark green leaves
• Segregate honey like substances because of that leaves are
converted into black sooty mould
• Apical parts of the shoots show retarted growth
Control measures:
• Spray prophenophos or dimethoate @ 2ml/litre
• Spray fish oil rosin soap @ 25g/litre
Thrips – thrips tabaci
Damage symptoms:
• Discoloured or distorted plant tissues
• Damaged leaves become papery and distorted
• Petals may exhibit colour break
Control measures:
• Set up yellow sticky trap 20 per acre
• Released Amphelicies cucumeris spider parasitoid
• Fipronil 1.5ml/lit or spiromesifen 0.75ml/lit or azardiractin
3ml/lit
Spider :
• It can be controlled by spraying kelthane 1ml/lit of water

Bud worm :
• it severely affects growing buds and flowers and can be
controlled by spraying endosulfan 2ml/lit of water
 Plant protection- disease
Leaf spot :
• Leaf spot can be controlled by spraying bavistin 1g/lit of
water
• Foliar application of Pseudomonas flourescens @ 0.5%

Root rot :
• Drench 1g/lit of bavistin
 Post harvest & Packaging
• Soaking of flowers in 0.1 % Al2(SO4)3 for 2 hrs
• Flowers can be stored at 8-12 degree celcius for 3 days

Packaging :
• Marigold flowers are mostly packed in gunny bags
Thank you