A review of the development, production and post harvest requirements of Gerberas

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A review of the development, production and post harvest requirements of Gerberas

Heidi Baker

BSc (Hons) Horticulture


Contents


  1. Introduction:

Gerberas (also known as the Transvaal or Barberton Daisy) were discovered in the early 1880’s and have been popular with plant breeders ever since (Kessler, 1999).  They are grown world wide and available all year round as cut flowers, pot plants and bedding plants, making them extremely versatile for many different markets.  As cut flowers they are extremely popular as they are high value and available in over 200 different varieties (Flowers and Plants Association, 2007).  They also have a long vase life, and cope well with transportation, which makes them suitable for domestic and export markets (Nair, 2003).  Many improvements have been made over the years and most of the modern breeding work has come from the Netherlands where Gerberas were the fifth most popular flower to come out of the Dutch auctions in 2003 (Flower Council of Holland, 2003).

  1. Market:

Gerberas are very popular for use in bouquets in supermarkets and florists, but obviously in varying quantities.  A packager for a supermarket will require a large number of the same colour Gerbera, with the same stem length and flower size, to put in the mixed bouquets, which are then distributed throughout supermarkets, petrol stations and other similar outlets.  The flowers for these outlets usually come with a guaranteed vase life so it is essential that the flowers are in the best possible condition.  Florists operate on a much smaller scale, so possibly the best solution for them is the mixed boxes of Gerberas, where a range of colours are packaged together.  Florists would also be able to use the more unusual varieties of Gerbera, such as the Gerondo® (figure 1) or the Pomponi (figure 2) in specialist arrangements.

                                

Figure 1:  Gerbera Gerrondo®                        Figure 2: Gerbera Pomponi Sponge Bob.

Source: Flower Council of Holland (2005)                Source: Bruffin (2007)         

  1. Production:

Most Gerberas are grown under protection even in warmer climates such as South Carolina in the USA where there is demand for Gerberas early in the year for Valentines Day (Dufault et al., 1990).  In countries such as Japan, where the night temperatures are still relatively warm, Gerberas are grown in the ground (Roskam, 2000).  Japanese growers buy in 90-95% of plants from Holland but are a lot fussier about quality than the Dutch and will reject any flower that is less than perfect (Roskam, 2000) whereas in the United Kingdom standards are not always so high.  Robin Meek at Zwetsloots, Bedfordshire pointed out that flowers that don’t meet the top specifications in the United Kingdom will still be sold to cash and carry wholesalers and markets (personal communication, 30 November 2007).  Gerbera production is becoming quite mechanised in countries that can afford the extra investment, to include irrigation systems, osmosis machines, feeding units, and pH-EC measuring equipment (Florist de Kwakel, 2004).  This extra cost is obviously justified with the prospect of higher production and therefore higher value crops.

  1. Propagation:

  • Seed:  Gerberas have large seeds, which germinate at about 70% under suitable environmental conditions (Rogers and Tjia, 1990).  Plants are genetically varied so Gerbera produced from open pollinated seed are unlikely to be similar, which is no good for commercial production.  F1 hybrid seed can be a solution to this problem and are produced by a number of seed companies with a reasonable degree of success.  An advantage of the F1 Hybrid seed is the relatively low cost for each propagated plant and the ability to produce unlimited quantities of any particular cultivar.
  • Division:  Gerberas have a crown composed of many short leafless rhizomes, which bear vegetative buds and may be easily propagated by division (Rogers and Tjia, 1990).  However, many stock plants are needed for this method of propagation so it is not ideal for a large commercial business.  There is also quite a high risk of infection by Phytophthora cryptogea (Crown Rot).   
  • Micropropagation:  Micropropagation (or tissue culture) is the predominant method for commercial propagation of Gerberas as it produces uniform, vigorous, disease free plants.  It is also possible to produce large amounts of plants in a short space of time, which is crucial with Gerberas as new varieties are constantly being bred.
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  1. Cultivation in soil:

A number of requirements need to be met if growing Gerberas in soil, such as:

  • Soil structure:  The soil should be airy and permeable, to allow plant roots to penetrate easily and to allow fast draining of water.  If the soil becomes waterlogged the plant becomes more susceptible to fungal diseases.  Substances such as perlite and rice chaff can be added to the soil to improve its structure, but care should be taken so that the pH and nutrient levels in the soil are not altered by this.
  • Disease free soil:  Sterilisation ...

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