Climate change is also a serious challenge for chrysanthemum growers

(Photo: Pixabay)

At the end of October or the first of November, the vast majority of the domestic chrysanthemum crop is sold. According to the interviewed growers and distributors, this year, if not a big shortage, a strong demand market is typical for both potted and cut varieties.

In an average year, an estimated 12-13 million stems of large-flowered chrysanthemums (Palisade, Creamis, etc.) and 1.5-2 million stems of medium-large flowers are sold

In addition, bouquet varieties – which are in demand all year round – and pot varieties are also available. While white was by far the most popular in the past, nowadays there is an increasing demand for green and two-color (mixed colors – red-white, sun-yellow-orange, purple-pink, etc.). The trend is also different for each part of the country: in Western Hungary they are of the pom-pom type, in the Great Plains and the Tiszántúl they are called Eleonora, who is riding a sunflower. In recent years, the demand for prefabricated smaller wreaths has also increased, which can also be attributed to the increased proportion of urn graves.

The chrysanthemum likes a temperature of around 17 degrees Celsius, so the high heat in June-July-August this year, permanently above 30 degrees Celsius, brought serious challenges to cultivation

During the heat wave, the plants suffered a lot of heat and light stress, so more irrigation, controlled nutrient supply, and biostimulants had to be used to treat plant stress, in addition to shading, cooling, and humidification. For timed flowering, a light of around 255 Watts is ideal, but this year 600-700 was regular, and the record was 768 Watts. This meant extreme stress, bud formation stopped, and then due to the repeated heat in September, bud development also slowed down. There was a drastic amount of plant burn in the open air and in the foils, and the foiled plants were attacked by many insects, and it was necessary to defend against multiples of the usual insect pressure. In this regard, the fact that the EU has banned many effective plant protection agents – often unjustifiably – makes it difficult for producers. Given the highly seasonal nature of the chrysanthemum, cultivation, logistics, and sales also require serious organization and tight timing, which was delayed this year due to the listed factors. The cut flowers must be prepared to be kept on the counter for several days before they go to the shops, but customers should also contact the producers directly.

In Hungary, chrysanthemum cultivation is basically typical near big cities

A significant production area is, for example, Dabas, Lajosmizse, Kecskemét and its surroundings, where the white variety is typical, while the resistant cream-white Creamist is preferred in the vicinity of Nyíregyháza and Szeged. Small-scale local cultivation is also typical throughout the country, unfortunately in most places with outdated methods and decades-old technology. Due to climate change, it is particularly important in general that producers use controlled propagating material and that they use modern, environmentally friendly plant protection solutions.

NAK