Spring Dendrobium forced flowering costs drop sharply: how many times a year does it bloom, and how much per plant
To force flowering, Spring Dendrobium growers have to use cold rooms or take the plants up to high mountains, but the cost of forcing flowering can reach 30 yuan per plant. The Taiwan Seed Improvement and Propagation Station under the Council of Agriculture has developed forced-flowering technology and agents costing as little as only 5.5 yuan per plant, and it can also adjust the flowering period according to market demand.
To force flowering, Spring Dendrobium growers have to use cold rooms or take the plants up to high mountains, but the cost of forcing flowering can reach 30 yuan per plant. The Taiwan Seed Improvement and Propagation Station under the Council of Agriculture has developed forced-flowering technology and agents costing as little as only 5.5 yuan per plant, and it can also adjust the flowering period according to market demand, raise the flowering rate and flowering uniformity of the plants, and control the quality of potted flowers.
Since our country developed the relevant technology for year-round production of Phalaenopsis, it has driven the value of orchid exports to as much as 200 million US dollars. Following the successful experience of Phalaenopsis, the seed station has developed energy-saving forced-flowering technology for Spring Dendrobium, which is expected to add another beautiful new force to orchid exports.
Chang Ting-lin, director of the seed station, pointed out that Spring Dendrobium mostly blooms between March and May, generally once a year. Because the flowers are numerous and dense, elegant and diverse in color, and some types even give off a delicate fragrance, it is an important emerging orchid in Taiwan, China.
Controlling the flowering period is key to Spring Dendrobium exports. Kuo Lan-ting, associate researcher at the seed station, said that based on domestic wholesale prices, the highest price for Spring Dendrobium appears around the Spring Festival, reaching 120 yuan per pot, but at the worst price it is only 60 yuan per pot. Therefore, controlling the flowering period and how to sell at high prices is exactly the problem to be solved. Demand in foreign markets is mainly concentrated around Christmas, so how to control the flowering period to Christmas is the key to exports.
Kuo Lan-ting said that before Spring Dendrobium blooms, it must go through 50 to 80 days at 10 to 15 degrees of cool temperature to make it form buds, and afterward the temperature must be maintained at 15 to 20 degrees, but the flowering period is still not easy to control. In the past, to adjust the flowering period, growers used methods such as forcing flowering at high altitude or combining low temperature with plant hormone treatment, but the quality was not stable.
The cost of forced flowering with the new technology is as low as only 5.5 yuan per plant. Kuo Lan-ting also said that the seed station has introduced "Spring Dendrobium forced-flowering technology," using agents together with temperature regulation to force flowering and blooming. With correct use, the success rate of flowering can reach 100 percent, and it also makes the forced-flowering operation simpler. Compared with the traditional cost of 30 yuan per plant for forcing Spring Dendrobium to flower, if this technology is used, the winter cost is only 5.5 yuan per plant, and the number of flowers per node on Spring Dendrobium also rises from 1 to 2 per node to 4.
The seed station reminds interested farmers that they can contact the seed station for technology transfer by non-exclusive licensing. They also hope that this can promote the development of the Spring Dendrobium industry.