Tube rose

POLYANTES TUBEROSA
FAMILY:AMARYLLIDACEAE,

The tuberose occupies a very selective

and special position among the
ornamental bulbous plants for its beauty,
elegance and sweet pleasant fragrance.
It has a great economic potential for cutflower trade and essential oil industry.
Due to their great demand, it is currently
cultivated in most of the tropical and subtropical countries of the world.

At present the total area under

tuberose cultivation in the country is
estimated to be about 20,000 hectare.

MORPHOLOGY AND CLASSIFICATION

Tuberose is a half-hardy, bulbous perennial perpetuating itself

through the bulblets.
Bulbs are made up of scales and leaf bases and the stem is a
condensed structure which remains concealed within scales.
Roots are mainly adventitious and shallows.
The leaves are long, narrow, linear, grass-like, light green, and arise
in rosette.
The flowers have a funnel shaped perianth and are fragrant, waxy
white, about 25 mm long, single or double and borne in a spike.
The terminal flower spikes arising from the bulb produce flowers for
a number of days.
Stamens are six in number, anthers dorsifixed in the middle, ovary 3
locular, ovules numerous and fruits are capsule.

. SPECIES AND CULTIVARS

A. Species .
Polianthes is a monotypic genus T
The genus contains about a dozen of species but they are not
clearly distinct.
Nine of the species so described had white flowers, one was
white-and-red and two are red.
All are found growing wild with the exceptions of P. tuberosa
which has never been found anywhere except under
cultivation.
The only close relative of P. tuberosa is believed to be
Polianthes gracilis. The description of important species is
given here.

1. Polianthes tuberosa
It is an erect herb, 60-120 cm high with stout and short bulbs; leaves basal, 6 to 9 in number, 3045 cm long, about 1.3 cm wide, linear, bright green, reddish near the base, flowers funnel
shaped, waxy white, the tube bent only near the base, filaments attached on upper part of
corolla, fragrant in long terminal racemes.

2. Polianthes polustris

3. P. durangensis

4. P. montana
5. P. longiflora

6. P. platyphylla
7. P. graminifolia -This deep red species is very common in Mexico.
8. P. geminiflora

9. P. gracilis (P. tuberosa vas. gracilis)

10. P. pringlei

B. CULTIVARS

There are three types of tuberose:

i. single with one row of corolla
segments;
ii. semi-double bearing flowers with 2-3
rows of segments;
iii. double having more than three rows
of corolla segments.

Singles Calcutta single, Hyderabad

single, Prajwal, Rajat Rekha and
swarma Rekha (NBRl, Lucknow) .
SemidoubleDouble-Vaibav,Hyderabad
double,Calcutta double

IV. CLIMATE

Tuberose grows in mild climate without extremes of high

or low temperatures even though it can be grown under
a wide range of climatic conditions.
commercial cultivation of tuberose is mainly confined in
warm humid areas with average temperature range from
200 to 350 centigrade.
For its luxuriant growth, it requires high humidity and a
temperature around 300 centigrade.
Temperature above 400C reduces the spike length and
quality of the flowers.
Very low temperature and frost also damage the plants
and flowers. Tuberose grows well in sunny situation.

V. SOIL

The tuberose grows in a wide range of soils. Its

cultivation can also be extended economically in almost
unproductive soils affected by salinity and alkalinity.
Loam and sandy loam soils having a pH range from 6.5
to 7.5 with good aeration and drainage are considered
suitable for its cultivation.
The soil should be rich in organic matter and retain
sufficient moisture for proper growth.
However, it is suggested that heavy soils, where rice is
cultivated should be preferred to light red soils.
For cultivation in pots, a mixture of garden soil, FYM and
leaf mould in the proportion of 2:1:1 should be used.

VI. PROPAGATION

Tuberose is mainly propagated vegetatively by

means of bulbs.
Seeds, if produced, are difficult to germinate
and are seldom used for raising plants.
Although, not very common, propagation may
also be done by the division of bulbs.
To get virus-free material or for a very rapid
multiplication, the propagation is done through
tissue culture.

B. VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION

The tuberose can also be propagated vegetatively by

the following methods.
1. Propagation by bulbs
This is the most common method practised
commercially for the multiplication of tuberose.
However, care should be taken in the selection of
suitable bulbs. Spindle-shaped bulbs free from diseases
and having an average diameter of 1.5 cm or above
should always to preferred to conical or flat bulbs. The
maximum production of bulbs can be obtained by
planting the early and to grow as late as possible.

2. PROPAGATION BY DIVISION

Another method of propagation is by using bulb segments.

The success, depends on the size of the bulbs and only the
segments from large bulbs (2 cm or more in diameter) regenerate
well.
Bulbs are cut into 2-3 vertical sections, each containing a bud and a
part of the basal plate.
Each of these sections is treated with fungicide and planted
vertically in a rooting medium with their tips just showing above the
surface.
A moderately warm temperature, slightly higher than for mature
bulbs should be maintained.
New bulblets along with roots develop from the basal plate.
At this time they are transferred to the ground to continue growth.

C. MICROPROPAGATION

The conventional method of

propagation through bulbs is rather
slow to meet the growing demand and,
therefore, clonal propagation through
tissue culture may be utilized
for rapid and large-scale multiplication.

CULTIVATION

A. Site selection
For optimum growth and high yield of flowers it is
preferable to choose a place having plenty of sunlight.
A little shade towards the later part of the afternoon is
desirable in hot summer
If there is too much shade, the plants grow tall and
lanky and the flowering is adversely affected.
Tuberose is sensitive to wet feet, hence drainage
should be good, water- logging even for a short period
damages the root system and affects the growth and
flowering

B. SOIL PREPARATION

Land preparation is very important for the cultivation of

tuberose.
The field should be worked deep to a good tilth and
properly manured.
If the soil is not thoroughly prepared and contains soil
clods or undecomposed organic matter, bulb production
is affected and it also reduces the yield and quality of
flowers.
Well rotten cow dung or farmyard manure @ 50
tonnes/ha, should be incorporated with the soil about a
month before planting.
Care should be taken to make the land free from weeds.

C. BULB SELECTION AND PLANTING

Selection of good planting material'is necessary for obtaining higher

yield and good quality of flowers.
It has been observed that fresh bulbs if planted, lead only to profuse
vegetative growth_but little flowering, and a storage for few weeks is
essential for better growth and flower production.
Therefore, clumps of bulbs should be dug out of the soil when plants
cease to grow and are stored in the well ventilated semi-shady place
for at least one month before planting.
The bulbs before planting, should be treated with fungicide, and
Blitox may be used for this purpose.
They should carefully be placed upright by land and covered with soil.
Clumps as such should never be planted as the plants grow
vegetatively rather than produce flowering spikes.
For pot cultivation, 2-3 bulbs are planted in the centre of a 20 cm pot.

1. BULB SIZE, DEPTH AND PLANTING TIME

Larger bulbs were found to take more time

for sprouting.
This might be due to the presence of more
layers of membranes scales which
interfered exchange of gases and inhibited
metabolic process.
Plant height and number of leaves per bulb
also showed gradual increase with the
increase in bulb size-up to a certain limit.

Bulb size also influences flowering.

Larger bulbs cause early flowering and
give higher yield of spike and flowers.
The number of flowers per spike, flower
quality, daughter bulb production etc
were also found to be related to bulb
size.

In general, bulbs having diameter

having 2.0 to 3.0 cm are suitable for
planting.
It has been observed that planting of
bulbs having 2.6 to 3.0 cm recorded
the highest yield of spikes (15.1
Iakhs/ha) and flowers (30.1
tonnes/hectare).

PLANTING DEPTH

Planting depth also marketedly influences growth and

production of flowers.
It may vary from 4.0 to 7.0 cm depending on the size of
the bulb, mature of soil as well as the growing regions.
The bigger is the bulb, the more is the depth.
Similarly, in sandy soil, planting is deeper as compared
to clay soil.
Planting of bulbs at greater depth delays the
appearance of shoots.
In sandy loam soil, planting of bulbs at the depth of 6.0
cm is recommended.

PLANTING SEASON

Tuberose is generally planted in

A) February-March in the plains
B)April-May in the hills.

Southern India-

Planting of bulbs in the month of April has shown to record the highest
yield of spikes and flowers in the cv. single.

Sequential planting may be practiced to obtain flowers almost

throughout the year, if the temperature is not very low in the winter
months.

Replanting is necessary after 3 years

July-August.

2. PLANTING DISTANCE

Plant density influences the yield and

quality of flowers and bulbs obtained
per unit area.
Higher plant density has been found to
produce greater yield of spikes, flowers
and bulbs.
The planting distance varies in different
regions.
Similarly the quantity of planting
material required for an area is also

D. IRRIGATION

Soil moisture is an important factor affecting growth and

flowering in tuberose.
Irrigation should be done before planting to provide optimum
moisture for sprouting and further irrigation should be
avoided until the bulbs have sprouted .
Too much moisture in the soil at the time of sprouting results
in the rotting of bulbs and similar condition during flowering
adversely affects the development of spikes and flowers.
The frequency of irrigation depends upon soil type, stage of
growth and weather conditions.
The tuberose fields should be irrigated at interval of 10-15
days, if the weather is dry.

summer months (April to June) - irrigated at weekly interval

winter at 10-day interval.

In an investigation on the effect of irrigation frequency on the growth

and flowering, it was observed that plants of cv. Pearl irrigated at 40
11m2 every 7 days were large, Flowered earlier and produced large
bulbs than those irrigated at every 14 days.

The effect of different watering rates and mulching on tuberose for

bulb enlargement was studied and found that drip irrigation at 20003000 m3/ha gave the best yield of 30-32 bulbs/m2 of planting size.

Mulching with black polythene does not reduce the water requirement.