Lotus

production technology of lotus

1. EZHILMATHI.S 2015006015 PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF LOTUS

2. Botanical name : Nelumbo sp. Family : Nelumbonaceae Chromosome no.: 2n = 16 Common name : Thamarai , Padma , Kamal , Pankaj , Sacred water lily, Ambal , Nelufer , Nilufa , Suriyakamal , Thambal

3. INTRODUCTION Lotus is a beautiful aquatic perennial flowering plant with bluish green leaves It has a quality to grow in various environments ranging from clean water to muddy ponds and ditches It is a sacred flower for the Hindus and Buddhists Lotus is a national flower of India and Vietnam It is a day- bloomer and close by mid- afternoon for three successive days, with first flower closing early Flower closes in the evening and falls to the water, the reopen again in the morning with rise of the sun

4. COMPOSITION Roots are found to be rich in dietary fibre, protein, vitamin C, potassium, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B₆, phosphorous, manganese and copper, while very low in saturated fat. Lotus contains alkaloids like nuciferine , nornuciferine , nelumbine and roemerine

5. USES All parts of lotus, its flower, seed ( Phool Makhana ), leaf and roots are edible and used for medicinal purpose Leaves are used as a flavoring agent and used to wrap food materials for steaming The dried seeds are popped like popcorn, while roasted seeds are used as a substitute to coffee Petals are used for garnish, while stamens are used to flavor tea Tubers of lotus taste like sweet potato Perfume extracted from the flower of lotus

6. DESCRIPTION Flowers borne solitary on a long, stiff stalk; Sepals may be 4- 5 and green Anthers yellow in color, numerous with style; Stigma is terminal, contain a number of carpels (15- 30) embedded in a swollen thalamus Seeds are nut like achenes , hard and dark brown in colour Leaves are almost circular with a long petiole; with prominent veins on lower surface, leathery, water resistant and floats on the water surface Rhizomes are long, spongy, mucilaginous Color of the flowers maybe red, pink, white

7. TYPES Single type : less than 25 petals Semi- double: 25 to 40 petals Double type : more than 40 petals

8. SPECIES Nelumbo nucifera (Syn. Nelumbo speciosum , N. indica ) Commonly known as Indian/ sacred lotus or Oriental lotus is a native of South Asia is also widely distributed in Japan, Phillipines and China The leaves are usually larger, glaucons , entire, often wavy at the margin There are many flower colours

9. SPECIES Nelumbo lutea ( Syn. N. pentapetalum ) It is a native of North America The leaves rise 60 cm to 2 m above water, cupped in the center at the insertion of stalk The flowers are fragrant, yellow with obovate obtuse concave petals

10. VARIETIES Alba strata White flowers with uneven red margin Alba White, the Mangolian lotus Spring Bird Mamo Botan Dark rose pink yellow towards the base

11. VARIETIES Rosea Plena Double, dark rosy flowers Charles Thomas Lavender pink flowers Chawan Basu Red Scarf

12. VARIETIES Kermesina Fully double rose- pink red flowers Perry superstar Pink colour changes to yellow Yellow Bird Yellow Pekinensis Rubea Amaranth red

13. HYBRIDS Big Ben Pink Alexander the great Large flower welt dark pink to red Embolene Bicolour flower of pink to white

14. CLIMATE & SOIL Region : tropical and sub- tropical areas Altitude : 1600 to 1800 m MSL Sunshine : at least 6 hours per day Temperature: 20 o C to 30 o C with partial shade Water temp. : 20 o C to 25 o C not below 18 o C ; 16- 18 o C favours germination Soil : loam or clay soil

15. PROPAGATION By seeds Seeds have hard seed coat with waxy coating any high phenol content To break dormancy, the seeds must be scarified and then sown in pans of sandy soil which is filled with little water The seedlings are ready for transplanting once two leaves emerged along with rootlets Seed rate of 10- 12 kg/ ha used Viability of lotus seeds is more than 200 years under suitable conditions

16. PROPAGATION By divisions of rhizome Rhizome pieces having at least three nodes with new sprouts Planted during months of February- March, horizontally 8- 10 cm deep in the soil and it is pressed firmly The sprouted side should be up It will flower during onset of summer About 36000- 42000 kg rhizomes are required for one ha

17. PLANTING In a garden artificial ponds, tanks of different shapes and sizes can be prepared Containers made up of fibre glass, polythene and concrete can also be made for lotus cultivation Container should be about 15 cm thick and water proof The soil mixture is spread in the aquatic body about 30- 45 cm thick layer The depth of water above the soil may vary from 30 cm to several meters

18. MANURES AND FERTILIZERS For growing in tanks, tubs, ponds, soil mixture is prepared by mixing one part loam soil, one part well decomposed FYM or compost, one part clay soil, 100 g neem cake and di ammonium phosphate for 1 m² area

19. MANAGEMENT OF POOL Adequate arrangement for drainage and filling the pool with water should be made Plants should be lifted up once in every 2- 3 years and replanted elsewhere Some gold fishes should be kept in the pool, which will control the mosquito larvae, add charm and beautify the water garden When flowering is over water should be drained out completely so that the bottom of the pool dry up completely So, the undesirable micro- organisms will be killed

20. CULTURAL OPERATIONS Some aquatic weeds like water hyacinth ( Eicchornea crassipes ) and typha grass ( Typha angustifolia ) spread rapidly, which cover the pond quickly These weeds should be removed manually Dry leaves and faded flowers should be removed

21. PLANT PROTECTION MEASURES Diseases: Leaf spot Causative organism: Alternaria nelumbii and Cercospora nelumbonis Symptom : small reddish brown spot on leaf, which gradually increase in size Control : spray of Captan or Blitox @2g/ l of water at 10 days interval

22. PLANT PROTECTION MEASURES Insect pests: Beetle ( Poppillia japonica ) It causes damage to the leaves and flowers Controlled by spraying Demecron @ 2 ml/ l of water at 10 days intervals Aphids ( Rhopalsiphum nymphaeae ) It causes much damage to the leaves and flowers by sucking the sap and the leaves disfigure and flowers are discolored Controlled by spraying Rogor or Malathion @ 2 ml/ l of water at 10 days intervals

23. HARVESTING & YIELD Fully matured flower buds are harvested 2- 3 days before opening so that they can be transported long distance Such flowers having long vase life Rhizomes are harvested during October in autumn, when the leaves dry up due to low temperature Seeds are harvested when seed heads turn brown 2- 5 flowers can be obtained per plant Yield of rhizomes is 4- 4.5 t/ ha in India, 4.5- 8.2 t/ ha in Malaysia and 3.5 t/ ha in Japan

24. REFERENCES Commercial floriculture/ M.M.Syamal / 2014/ Jaya publishing house, Delhi http://pondclinic.com http://www.pondplants1.com