Gaillardia Pulchella Foug

Marigold, China Aster and UNIT 2 GAILLARDIA (GAILLARDIA Jasmine PULCHELLA)

Structure 2.0 Objectives 2.1 Background 2.2 Introduction 2.2.1 Origin 2.2.2 Scope of its Cultivation 2.3 Importance and Uses 2.3.1 Importance in Landscaping 2.3.2 Description of Plants and Flowers 2.4 Species and Varieties 2.4.1 Species Description 2.5 Cultural Practices 2.5.1 Soil 2.5.2 Climate Requirement 2.5.3 Propagation 2.5.4 Seed rate, Season of Sowing and Spacing 2.5.5 Manures and Nutrient Requirement 2.5.6 Irrigation, Weeding and Hoeing 2.6 Harvesting and Yield 2.6.1 Harvesting Method 2.6.2 Yield 2.7 Seed Production in Gaillardia 2.7.1 Harvesting Seed 2.7.2 Postharvest Drying 2.7.3 Cleaning Seed 2.7.4 Seed Storage 2.8 Plant Protection 2.8.1 Major Pests of Gaillardia and its Management 2.8.2 Major Diseases of Gaillardia and its Management 2.9 Let Us Sum Up 2.10 Key Words 2.11 Further References 2.12 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises 2.0 OBJECTIVES

To impart knowledge to the students on the latest production techniques, seed production and protection of gaillardia.

31 Loose Flowers 2.1 BACKGROUND

The common name may refer to the resemblance of the inflorescence to the brightly patterned blankets made by Native Americans, or to the ability of wild taxa to blanket the ground with colonies. Many cultivars have been bred for ornamental use.

2.2 INTRODUCTION

2.2.1 Origin Gaillardia is native to North and South America. 2.2.2 Scope of Its Cultivation Gaillardia flourishes well in any garden soil and can withstand high light intensities, high temperature and drought better than most of the flowering plants. It is also tolerant to salinity. In landscaping, they are useful for filling up any odd corners, large open areas or wide perennial or herbaceous borders. They are also used for interior decorations apart from religious purposes as cut flowers. Besides its utility in landscape and cut flower, gaillardia is useful in reducing erosion in coastal dune areas.

2.3 IMPORTANCE AND USES

2.3.1 Importance in landscaping Grown in herbaceous borders and beds.

Suitable for cut flowers.

Besides its utility in landscape, useful in reducing erosion in coastal dune areas.

It is grown in summer and rainy season when there is a scarcity of flowers for decoration and cut flower. 2.3.2 Description of Plants and Flowers It was named after an M. Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18thcentury French magistrate who was a patron of botany. Gaillardia is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae and the chromosome number is 2n = 24. These are annual or perennial herbs or sub herbs, sometimes with rhizomes. The stem is usually branching and erects to a maximum height around 80 cm (31.5 inches). The leaves are alternatively arranged. Some taxa have only basal leaves. They vary in shape.

Flowers are borne in solitary, usually showy heads, the ray-florets yellow and red, 3 to 5 toothed the disc florets purple and fertile. Flower colour comprises of bright yellow, purple, cream yellow or orange, scarlet, copper or bronze, very attractive and durable.

32 Gaillardia 2.4 SPECIES AND VARIETIES

2.4.1 Species Description There are 12 species, out of which G. pulchella and G. aristata are of horticultural importance being annual and perennial forms, respectively. The cultivars of G. pulchella have single or double flowers, in different colours, red, yellow tipped red and others.

G. aristata has more number of strains and cultivars than in G. pulchella, the height varying between 35-75 cm and that range of colour includes yellow, coppery scarlet, orange-brown golden yellow, orange, crimson-banded yellow.

Some of the varieties are described below: DGS-1 released by UAS, Dharwad, Karnataka. It is grown in all the seasons Red Plume : Bright red flowers are produced on plants about 60 cm tall. Baby Cole : A dwarf plant only 20 cm tall bearing red flowers with yellow margins. Dazzler : The flowers are yellow with maroon centres. The plant is 40 cm tall. Goblin : Red flowers with yellow margins on a 30 cm plant. Golden : Goblin: Golden-yellow flowers on a plant 37.5 cm tall. Kobold : Plants about 20 cm tall with spread 45 cm and bear red flowers with yellow margins. Monarch Strain : Flowers are yellow to dark red and some may be a combination of two colours. The Sun : A plant 37.5 cm tall produces golden yellow flowers. Tokajer : Yellow flowers with red at the base of the petals and dark centers, 75 cm tall. Some of the hybrids are : Burgundy : Wine red flowers and plant height up to 60 cm. Copper beauty, having orange and maroon flowers and plant height 75 cm. Ipswich Beauty : Flowers orange and maroon-red, 75 cm plant height. Mrs. H. Longsten : Golden-yellow with red centered flowers and plant height 75 cm. Nana Nieske : Flower colour yellow and red, short plant of 37.5 cm. The King : Yellow and crimson flower colour and 75 cm plant height.

33 Loose Flowers 2.5 CULTURAL PRACTICES

2.5.1 Soil It prefers well drained sandy loam, neutral to alkaline soils (pH 7.1 to 8.5). It has good tolerance of saline and drought conditions. Medium fertility status of the soil is successful for cultivation. 2.5.2 Climate Requirement It grows best in areas with full sunlight and moderate. 2.5.3 Propagation The annual gaillardia is propagated there seeds. The perennial forms can be propagated by cutting or seeds Plants should be spaced 30-40 cm apart. The seeds are sown either in pot or in raised nursery beds from January to October to obtain flowers almost throughout the year. Seeds propagated plants G. aristata produced economic flowers upto 3 years 2.5.4 Seed Rate, Season of Sowing and Spacing Gaillardia commercially propagated through seeds. Seed rate is 2-2.5 kg/ha. Season of sowing is June to July. Basically, seeds are used for sowing in nursery beds. Transplanting of seedlings is done after 25 days in the field prepared for this purpose. Seedlings to be transplanted should have a well-developed root system but not be root bound. Seedlings have to be planted 1 to 13 foot on either side as row planting in zig-zag method. Seedlings require frequent watering for the first few weeks. 2.5.5 Manures and Nutrient Requirement Apply FYM @ 15 tonnes/ha is applied before planting. NPK @ 150:80:60 kg/ ha. Fertilizers and manures have to be applied as per flower crop production in the field. Since blanketflower has a long flowering season, apply fertilizers in 2 to 3 splits. Drip irrigation and fertigation will be more ideal for uniform distribution of nutrients to the crop. 2.5.6 Irrigation, Weeding and Hoeing If economical, use supplemental irrigation to ensure that plants receive at least 1 inch of water per week. When irrigating the crop, apply at least ¾ inch each time to encourage a deeper root system.The cultural operations like weeding and hoeing etc should be practiced as and when required.

Direct sowing is much less expensive than using transplanting of seedlings. But currently no labelled herbicides are available for use (as post emergence) in seed production. Hence, expensive hand weeding has to be followed. In transplanting method, pre emergence herbicides can be used.

34 Gaillardia 2.6 HARVESTING AND YIELD

2.6.1 Harvesting Method Flowering commences after about 3 to 4 months of sowing. In order to improve flowering, liquid fertilizers are to be given when the plants have started bearing flowers. Removal of wilted flower prolongs the flowering period. Fully open flowers which long stem are harvested for cut-flowers which remain fresh for 5- 6 days in vase. After 10-12 weeks, gaillardia is ready for harvesting then we gets the flowers up to 2 months 2.6.2 Yield An average yield of gaillardia is about 15-35 t/ha.

2.7 SEED PRODUCTION IN GAILLARDIA

2.7.1 Harvesting Seed The mature seed head resembles a light gray, fuzzy ball. Each seed is actually an individual fruit called an achene. Blanketflower achenes strongly resemble the “birdie” or shuttlecock used in badminton, with the black seed buried deep at the tip.

Many of the ripe achenes will drop off the seed head on their own. However, those that are retained must be dislodged at harvesting or after the drying process. Seed can be dislodged from dried seed heads using a hammer mill. For small quantities of seed, a food processor with the blades wrapped in duct tape can be used.

Using a handheld seed stripper allows for more selective harvesting. Manually harvesting with pruning shears is the most selective method because seed heads comprised of mostly ripe seed can be harvested.

When seed heads are being harvested from a small plot for increasing seed or for seed packets, harvesting by hand is strongly recommended. Hand harvesting, while labor intensive, will maximize yield. Moreover, since only ripe seed heads are being harvested, plants will continuously flower throughout the growing season, thereby maximizing seed production.

A combine is most cost efficient when harvesting field crops of 10 acres or more. A combine will harvest the whole crop, whether the seed is mature or not. Plants should reflower, allowing at least a second harvest. An alternative method to harvest seed from field plantings is a modified leaf vacuum pulled by a tractor. 2.7.2 Postharvest Drying Harvested seed, especially seed harvested by combine, will contain some leaves, stems, and immature seed. Seed must be dried before they are cleaned, and just as important, dried relatively quickly. If the plant material remains moist too long, seed will start to decay.

Harvested seed can be spread on a clean, hard surface and allowed to dry for a few days before cleaning. Use a floor fan to facilitate drying if the harvest is 35 Loose Flowers large. Laying the harvested seed on brown packing paper or newspaper in a shed or barn should be adequate. (Visit your local newspaper and ask for the ends of newsprint rolls.) If drying seeds outdoors, seed can be blown away in windy weather, and dew and rain will slow the drying process.

An alternative method is to dry the seed in a drying bin. A simple seed drying bin consists of four plywood walls and a porous false bottom, with warm, dry air (<100°F) forced up through the bottom. Some growers use a furnace fan as a source of warm air. Openings in the false bottom need to be small enough that seed do not fall through. Spread seed out evenly (and not too thick) over the entire floor of the bin. If part of the floor is not covered with seed, the air will preferentially flow through that gap and increase drying time. 2.7.3 Cleaning Seed Cleaning blanket flower seed has proven to be a challenge for the growers. Because of the fluffy nature of the seed, removing unwanted plant parts and weed seed is difficult. There is no known method of safely and economically extracting the actual seed from the tip of the shuttlecock-like achene.

Use a two-screen (or more) air-screen cleaner initially. Consider these options for additional cleaning:

A seed cleaner that utilizes some type of fabric. The fuzzy achenes might stick to the fabric more than other plant parts or weed seed. This seed cleaner would also need to have a mechanism for safely dislodging seed from the fabric.

Air density seed separator - This type of cleaner is best for separating ripe seed from immature seed or seed that do not contain an embryo.

Small quantities of seed can be cleaned by hand with screens used in an air- screen cleaner. 2.7.4 Seed Storage Store clean seed in a cool, dry environment such as a large refrigerator or walk- in cooler for maximum shelf life. The current rule of thumb is that temperature (°F) + relative humidity (% RH) in the storage facility should total 100 or less. For example, storing seed at 35°F and 40% RH (35+40=75) would be adequate.

If seed is going to be stored in a shed or barn, protect it against insects and rodents. No matter where the seed is stored, each bag should be labeled with the species name, date of harvest, date of storage, percent purity, and germination rate.

2.8 PLANT PROTECTION

2.8.1 Major Pests of Gaillardia and its Management 1) Aster leaf hopper: A vector for aster-yellow virus controlled with insecticide application

2) Four lined plant bug: Can become a pest in early summer. Insecticide applications in May or early June, before adults appear, are most effective. 36 3) Thrips: Flower and onion thrips may attack gaillardia which can be controlled Gaillardia with Malathion spray. 2.8.2 Major Diseases of Gaillardia and Its Management 1) Leaf spot: May be a problem where summer is humid controlled with a copper fungicide. 2) Powdery mildew: Controlled with wettable sulfur or karathane. 3) Rust: Infected leaves should be picked and destroyed. 4) Virus: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus has been reported on gaillardia. Insect vectors must be controlled with insecticide. 5) Smut: Causes light coloured spot on leaves, but control measures usually not necessary. 6) Aster yellow: A virus disease wherein the insect vectors should be controlled.

Check Your Progress Exercise 1 Note : a) Space is given below for answers. b) Compare your answer with that given at the end of the unit. 1) Write the importance and uses of Gaillardia......

2) Write a brief note a species and varieties of Gaillardia......

3) List out the Hybrids of Gaillardia......

37 Loose Flowers 4) Write a short note on propagation, seed rate and spacing in Gaillardia......

5) Describe the seed production method in Gaillardia......

6) What are the major pests and diseases of Gaillardia? ......

2.9 LET US SUM UP

Two species of Gaillardia are considered native to Florida. Gaillardia pulchella Foug. commonly called blanketflower, is the most widely known and cultivated. It is also referred to as Indian blanket and firewheel. Blanketflower occurs mainly in coastal counties because it is a salt-loving plant (halophyte). Blanketflower is an annual to short-lived perennial that is about 1 to 1 1/2 feet tall and about as wide under natural conditions. Under cultivated conditions it can spread out to over 3 feet wide and grow up to 2 feet tall. It has light grayish green leaves that are densely hairy. Flowering commences after about 3 to 4 months of sowing and the average yield of gaillardia flowers is about 15-35 t/ha. The chapters cover detailed production technology which includes cultural practices, plant protection and seed production in Gaillardia.

2.10 KEY WORDS

Asteraceae, Gaillardia, Cutflower, Bedding plant, Landscaping, varieties and hybrids, DGS – 1 Gaillardia.

2.11 FURTHER REFERENCES

1) Arora, J.S (2006), Introductory Ornamental Horticulture, Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi. 38 2) Bhattacharjee, S.K. (2006), Advances in Ornamental Horticulture, Vols. Gaillardia I-VI, Pointer publishers, New Delhi.

3) Bose, T.K., Maiti, R.G., Dhua, R.S. and Das, P. (1999), Floriculture and Landscaping, Naya Prokash, Calcutta.

4) Chadha, K.L. and Choudhary, B. (1986), Ornamental Horticulture in India, ICAR, New Delhi.

5) Sheela, V.L. (2011), Horticulture, MJP publishers, Triplicane, Chennai.

6) Winslow, S.R. (2002), Propagation protocol for production of Gaillardia aristata seeds; Bridger Plant Materials Center, Bridger, Montana. In: Native Plant Network.

7) Jeffrey G. Norcini (2006), Seed production of Blanket flower, Document ENH 987, one of the series of the Env. Hort. Dept. Florida Co-operative Extn. Science, IFAS, Univ. of Florida.

2.12 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISES

Check Your Progress Exercise 1

1) (a) Importance in landscaping

Grown in herbaceous borders and beds.

Suitable for cut flowers.

Besides its utility in landscape, useful in reducing erosion in coastal dune areas.

It is grown in summer and rainy season when there is a scarcity of flowers for decoration and cut flower.

(b) Description of plants and flowers : It was named after an M. Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18thcentury French magistrate who was a patron of botany. Gaillardia is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae and the chromosome number is 2n = 24. These are annual or perennial herbs or sub herbs, sometimes with rhizomes. The stem is usually branching and erects to a maximum height around 80 cm (31.5 inches). The leaves are alternatively arranged. Some taxa have only basal leaves. They vary in shape.

2) Species description

There are 12 species, out of which G. pulchella and G. aristata are of horticultural importance being annual and perennial forms, respectively. The cultivars of G. pulchella have single or double flowers, in different colours, red, yellow tipped red and others. 39 Loose Flowers G. aristata has more number of strains and cultivars than in G. pulchella, the height varying between 35-75 cm and that range of colour includes yellow, coppery scarlet, orange-brown golden yellow, orange, crimson-banded yellow.

Some of the varieties are described below:

DGS-1 released by UAS, Dharwad, Karnataka.

It is grown in all the seasons Red Plume : Bright red flowers are produced on plants about 60 cm tall. Baby Cole : A dwarf plant only 20 cm tall bearing red flowers with yellow margins. Dazzler : The flowers are yellow with maroon centres. The plant is 40 cm tall. Goblin : Red flowers with yellow margins on a 30 cm plant. Golden : Goblin: Golden-yellow flowers on a plant 37.5 cm tall. Kobold : Plants about 20 cm tall with spread 45 cm and bear red flowers with yellow margins. Monarch Strain : Flowers are yellow to dark red and some may be a combination of two colours. The Sun : A plant 37.5 cm tall produces golden yellow flowers. Tokajer : Yellow flowers with red at the base of the petals and dark centers, 75 cm tall. 3) Some of the Hybrids of Gaillardia are : Burgundy : Wine red flowers and plant height up to 60 cm. Copper beauty, having orange and maroon flowers and plant height 75 cm. Ipswich Beauty : Flowers orange and maroon-red, 75 cm plant height. Mrs. H. Longsten : Golden-yellow with red centered flowers and plant height 75 cm. Nana Nieske : Flower colour yellow and red, short plant of 37.5 cm. The King : Yellow and crimson flower colour and 75 cm plant height. 4) a) Propagation The annual gaillardia is propagated there seeds. The perennial forms can be propagated by cutting or seeds. Plants should be spaced 30-40 cm apart. The seeds are sown either in pot or in raised nursery beds from January to October to obtain flowers almost throughout the year. Seeds propagated plants G. aristata produced economic flowers upto 3 years. 40 (b) Seed rate, season of sowing and spacing : Gaillardia commercially Gaillardia propagated through seeds. Seed rate is 2-2.5 kg/ha. Season of sowing is June to July. Basically, seeds are used for sowing in nursery beds. Transplanting of seedlings is done after 25 days in the field prepared for this purpose. Seedlings to be transplanted should have a well-developed root system but not be root bound. Seedlings have to be planted 1 to 13 foot on either side as row planting in zig-zag method. Seedlings require frequent watering for the first few weeks.

5) (a) Harvesting Seed : The mature seed head resembles a light gray, fuzzy ball. Each seed is actually an individual fruit called an achene. Blanketflower achenes strongly resemble the “birdie” or shuttlecock used in badminton, with the black seed buried deep at the tip.

Many of the ripe achenes will drop off the seed head on their own. However, those that are retained must be dislodged at harvesting or after the drying process. Seed can be dislodged from dried seed heads using a hammermill. For small quantities of seed, a food processor with the blades wrapped in duct tape can be used.

(b) Postharvest Drying : Harvested seed, especially seed harvested by combine, will contain some leaves, stems, and immature seed. Seed must be dried before they are cleaned, and just as important, dried relatively quickly. If the plant material remains moist too long, seed will start to decay.

Harvested seed can be spread on a clean, hard surface and allowed to dry for a few days before cleaning. Use a floor fan to facilitate drying if the harvest is large. Laying the harvested seed on brown packing paper or newspaper in a shed or barn should be adequate. (Visit your local newspaper and ask for the ends of newsprint rolls.) If drying seeds outdoors, seed can be blown away in windy weather, and dew and rain will slow the drying process. An alternative method is to dry the seed in a drying bin. A simple seed drying bin consists of four plywood walls and a porous false bottom, with warm, dry air (<100°F) forced up through the bottom. Some growers use a furnace fan as a source of warm air. Openings in the false bottom need to be small enough that seed do not fall through. Spread seed out evenly (and not 41 Loose Flowers too thick) over the entire floor of the bin. If part of the floor is not covered with seed, the air will preferentially flow through that gap and increase drying time. c) Cleaning Seed : Cleaning blanket flower seed has proven to be a challenge for the growers. Because of the fluffy nature of the seed, removing unwanted plant parts and weed seed is difficult. There is no known method of safely and economically extracting the actual seed from the tip of the shuttlecock- like achene. Use a two-screen (or more) air-screen cleaner initially. Consider these options for additional cleaning: A seed cleaner that utilizes some type of fabric. The fuzzy achenes might stick to the fabric more than other plant parts or weed seed. This seed cleaner would also need to have a mechanism for safely dislodging seed from the fabric. Air density seed separator - This type of cleaner is best for separating ripe seed from immature seed or seed that do not contain an embryo. Small quantities of seed can be cleaned by hand with screens used in an air-screen cleaner. d) Seed Storage : Store clean seed in a cool, dry environment such as a large refrigerator or walk-in cooler for maximum shelf life. The current rule of thumb is that temperature (°F) + relative humidity (% RH) in the storage facility should total 100 or less. For example, storing seed at 35°F and 40% RH (35+40=75) would be adequate. If seed is going to be stored in a shed or barn, protect it against insects and rodents. No matter where the seed is stored, each bag should be labeled with the species name, date of harvest, date of storage, percent purity, and germination rate. 6) (a) Major pests of gaillardia and its management : Aster leaf hopper: A vector for aster-yellow virus controlled with insecticide application Four lined plant bug: Can become a pest in early summer. Insecticide applications in May or early June, before adults appear, are most effective. Thrips: Flower and onion thrips may attack gaillardia which can be controlled with Malathion spray. b) Major diseases of gaillardia and its management : Leaf spot: May be a problem where summer is humid controlled with a copper fungicide. Powdery mildew: Controlled with wettable sulfur or karathane Rust: Infected leaves should be picked and destroyed. Virus: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus has been reported on gaillardia. Insect vectors must be controlled with insecticide Smut: Causes light coloured spot on leaves, but control measures usually not necessary. Aster yellow: A virus disease wherein the insect vectors should be 42 controlled.