Technical annual report 2000-01
Dept. of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources technical annual report; Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources technical and annual report; Reports; PublicationNT; Technical bulletin (Northern Territory. Dept. of Primary Industry and Fisheries) ; no. 295
2001-10
Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).
Date:2001-10
English
Agriculture -- Northern Territory -- Periodicals; Fisheries -- Northern Territory -- Periodicals
Dept. of Primary Industry and Fisheries
Darwin
Technical bulletin (Northern Territory. Dept. of Primary Industry and Fisheries) ; no. 295
0158-2763
Check within Publication or with content Publisher.
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/223369
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/687151
Technical Annual Report 2000/01 183 SUBPROGRAM: Cut Flowers PROJECT: Improvement and Development of New and Locally Adapted Cut Flowers for the Top End Project Officers: D. Marcsik, M. Gosbee, P. Albano, M. Hoult, R. Aiton and M. Connelly Location: BARC and CPHRF Objective: To provide industry with new, improved and locally adapted cut-flower cultivars. To determine heritability for commercial traits in the genus Zingiber Curcuma Introduction: The genus Curcuma , within the large Zingiberaceae family, offers exciting prospects for cut-flower producers, as well as for the ornamental industry at large. Many new species have recently been introduced from South-East Asia, and significant interest is being shown in the Japanese and European markets for these unique and colourful products. Several species and cultivars have been sourced by DPIF over the past two years. The first screening of accessions resulted in some promising selections. A second screening trial was established in 2000 and included a much larger range of accessions. Method: Dormant rhizomes and non-dormant potted plants of Curcuma accessions were established at BARC Horticultural block in September 2000 on raised beds 1.2 m apart. Row spacing depended on species and/or cultivar and ranged from 30 cm, 60 cm to 120 cm. In many cases three plants per accession were established; however in some instances one or two plants per accession were planted due to limited planting material. Fertiliser was applied pre-plant at 500 kg/ha NPK at a ratio of 14:14:12 and 500 kg/ha dolomite. Side dressing occurred every six weeks at 100 g/m2 of NPK at a ratio of 14:14:12 during the growing season (October to April) along with foliar application of micronutrients three times in the season. Irrigation was applied via drippers and at rates close to 100% of daily evaporation. Soil moisture was monitored with tensiometers. Observations were made on basic phenology, yield and vase-life. Some accessions were established under a full sun, others under 50% shade and some under shade only (see Table 1).