Commercial cultivation of Dendrobium orchids in india.

By Bharat Bhojane, M. Sc. (Agri),

General Manager – Buisiness Development (Rise n Shine Biotech P Ltd.)
Contact No. +91 9689941196/9822098103

1. Importance of orchids In India

 Highest selling flower in Indian cut flower industry.
 Most popular Dendrobium variety
 Main Import Cities: - Mumbai, Delhi, Banglore,Kolkata
 Popular Colour: - White, Violet, Yellow and Pink
 Potential: - Good demand in the Indian Flower market.

2. Commercial Orchids Varieties of Dendrobium

1. Den. White Big Sanan. 2. Den. Aiyara Pink.

2. Den. Sonia Red. Den. Big White (5N)

3. Orchid climatic requirements and water requirements.
 Temperature: - Minimum 150C & Maximum 330C.
 Humidity: - 60 – 80 %
 Water quality is also important,The electrical conductivity should be less than 0.5 ms/cm

4. Orchid Shade Net

 The shade house for the horticulture of Dendrobium have flat roofs.
 Net with a width of 4 metres is used.
 There are two tiers of roofs, one higher above the other, to ensure adequate ventilation.
 The distance between the upper and the lower roof is about 20 – 30 cm.
 The nets of the upper and the lower tier should overlap each other by about 25 – 30 cm.
 The piles for the structure of the shade house can be made of concrete or steel. The
concrete piles should have a thickness of 3.5 x 3.5 inch and a height of 3.5 m. from the
ground. The upper ends have a hole drilled through for fastening slings.
 Piles along the edge of the shade house should have a thickness of 5 x 5 inch.
 Along the edge of the net small wire is used to be tied to the steel pipes.
 The net should be placed at the sides of the shade house at an angle of 45 degrees to serve
as a protection against the sun and winds.
 The net should be placed at the sides of the shade house at an angle of 45 degrees to serve
as a protection against the sun and winds.
  The slings at the sides hold between the piles along the edge of the shade house and the
foundation posts anchored in the ground.
 The slings at the sides hold between the piles along the edge of the shade house and the
foundation posts anchored in the ground.
 The slings at the sides hold between the piles along the edge of the shade house and the
foundation posts anchored in the ground.
 The feature of nets used as protection against the sun and winds seen from the side.

The distance between the

upper and the lower roof is
about 20 – 30 cm.

Pictures of Orchid Shade House

5. Benches for Cultivation

 For making the stages to place the orchids, concrete piles with a thickness of 1.5 x 1.5
inch are used.
 The piles of the stages for placing the orchids rise above the ground about 60 to 70 cm.
 The stage is 1.20 m wide and the width between two piles is 80 cm.
 1.20-metre-long concrete beams are placed between two piles.
 The way of how to place concrete beams on the stages.
 When not using concrete beams, steel pipes will do the job quite as well.
  The laying of water pipes in the shade house saves one from dragging the hose for long
distances.
 The branching of the water pipe into various directions makes connecting the hose and
watering the plants more convenient.

Benches

6. Planting Media
 Coconut blocks used for planting Dendrobiums
 Every time when doing the planting the stems should be erected completely vertically.
Little bamboo sticks that are stuck in the coconut blocks may be attached to the orchid
stems to help keep them in position.
  Plants of a height of 10 to 15 cm only just planted in coconut blocks.
 Dendrobium that were planted about 6 - 7 months ago.

 When the Dendrobiums start blooming the coconut blocks should be moved apart leaving
a distance of about 20 cm between the blocks to allow the plants and blossoms to grow
to their full size.

 Insecticides or fungicides can be mixed together and should be applied by spraying once
every 7 to 10 days between 4 pm and 5 pm on a fine day.
 Fertilizer should be sprayed in the morning once every 7 to 10 days. During heavy rainfall
fertilizer should not be used. It also should never be mixed with insecticides or fungicides.