Marigold is very commonly found in India. It kept its importance as it is widely using in India for various religious and social purpose. Its farming is also using to capture certain insects. With very low cost and shorter time period of duration farming of this flower is quite famous. Flower is quite attractive in shape as well as in color. As it is very easy to cultivate, so it is widely grown all around the country. Based on color and shape it is of two types – African Marigold and French Marigold. French Marigold is smaller on comparison with African one. States like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh are famous for its farming. Dussehra and Diwali are the two famous festival where the use of Marigold is to its peak.
Famous Varieties and Cultivation of Marigold
African Marigold is 90cm long and are grown in longer period of duration. Flowers are biggerand are of lemon, yellow, golden, orange and dark yellowish colour.
French Marigold are smaller and are grown in short period of duration. Flowers are smaller andare of yellow, Orange, rusty red and reddish-brown colour.
Pusa Basanti Marigold is also for longer period farming. Plant of this variety is 58.80cm long andhaving the darkish green coloured leaves. Flowers of this are Sulfur yellowish, twisted and are of carnation variety.
Pusa Narangi Marigold is variety which requires almost 125-136 days for flowering. Plant of thisvariety is 73.30cm longer with dark greenish leaves. Flowers are of orange colour with carnation type. Flowers are dense and are double layered. Fresh flowers of this variety yield almost 140 Quintal in one acre.
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Climate for Marigold farming
Temperature – 25-35 degree Celsius
Rain – 100-150 CM
Temperature during Seeding – 28-32 degree Celsius
Temperature during cutting – 25-35 degree Celsius
Soil
It can be grown in different variety of soil, but if grown in fertile soil with good water drainage can yield the best. This cannot grow in the soil with higher moisture level, must requires good water drainage facility. Ph of the soil should remain in between 6.5 to 7.5. More acidic and more saline both are not suitable for this. French Marigold can even grow in lighter soil whereas African Marigold best grows in highly organic manure variety of soil.
Ground Preparation
Tillage the field till the soil becomes fragile. For boosting up the fertility of soil add 250 quintal of organic compost and well smelt cow’s dung.
Time of Seeding
Marigold can be grown at any time of the year. During rainy season it should be grown in between mid-June to mid-July. During winter it should be grown in between mid-September to mid-October.
Gap between the seeds
Nursery bed should be of 3 × 1 meter. Add smelt cow’s dung. Water the bed to maintain the moisture. Smash the dried flowers and sprinkle them over the bed. When plants are grown to 10-15 CM, then they are ready for transplanting. French Marigold should be seeded in 35 × 35 CM of gap and African Marigold should be grown in the gap of 45 × 45 CM.
Depth of the Seed
Just sprinkle the seeds over the nursery bed.
Techniques of Seeding
For seeding one can go for celery technique.
Amount of Seed
600 to 800 Grams of seeds are requires for growing in 1 acre of land. When it got grown for 30-45 days then cut them from the peak. By this a plant get shrubbier and denser, even flower got more bigger with beautiful shape.
Treating the Seeds
This is to done for better production. Treat seed with Azospirillum at 200 Gm mixed it in 50 ml of rice gruel before sowing.
Fertilizers (Kg/Acre)
For the initial usage for good growth in 1 acre one can add Nitrogen 32 Kg (Urea 70 Kg), Phosphorus 16 Kg (SSP 100 Kg), Potash 32 Kg (Muriate of Potash 53 Kg) to soil. One can change the fertilizer as per the variety of soil. For better result one can go for the soil test too.
Irrigation
Just after the transplanting one can go for irrigation. Irrigation is very important starting from bud to cutting. It is very much needed of doing irrigation after a gap of 4-5 days.
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