Production

technology of
Zantedeschia

Vijayalaxmi.
M
RHM/08-23
 Introduction

Zantedeschia aethiopica
Araceae
South Africa
Arum lily,
callalily,
Lily of the
Nile
 Introduction
• Commonly known as Calla lily, Richardia, Pig lily,
Varkore etc.,

• It is the only genus in the tribe Zantedeschiae which is in the

sub family philodendroideae.

• The Calla Lily was named after Professor Giovanni

Zantedeschi, 1773-1846, an Italian physician and botanist.

• It is considered by many people in the Republic of Ireland

to be a symbol of Irish Republicanism.
 Introduction contd..
• Since the days of ancient Rime the Calla Lily has been
treasured as a flower of celebration.

• The Romans valued them so much that they often decorated the
edges of the bloom with filaments of gold.

• These spectacular flowers are beginning to rival

the rose in popularity for bridal bouquets.

• The Society of American Florists feels that Calla lilies “are on

their way to becoming one of the top flowers, in terms of
consumer demand.”
 Area and production
• Large white callas are known but small colored callas are
becoming more familiar.

• New Zealand is the largest exporter of flowers of colored

calla hybrids.

• The calla sector is characterized by diverse sized firms

scattered through out the two main islands of New Zealand.

• Calla growers in New Zealand are members of an

expanding sector in the floriculture industry of that
country.
 Area and production
contd..
• Cut flower exports were $ 6.8 million and tuber exports were $
3.2 million in the year 2004 in new Zealand.

• Commercial companies have expanded their operations

offshore by growing flowers and bulbs in Kenya, Taiwan,
India and Swaziland, for lucrative northern hemisphere
markets.

• In India also there has been initiation in the production of

tubers of calla and few tissue culture labs have started
production for New Zealand and Dutch companies.
 Importance and uses
• It is important for their corolla like thick waxy spathe.

• Spathes are used as cut flowers while the leaves are very
elegant and used for flower arrangements.

• Like day lily callas are also used for planting along ponds
and lakes as border plants.

• As potted plants callas are very attractive.

• They are also used for decoration at Easter and

through out the spring and early summer months.
 Importance and
uses contd..

• It can be used a focal point for a spectacular arrangement

or bouquet.

• Callas are appealing in bunches or in a mixed

monochromatic bouquet with other speciality flowers.
 Importance and Uses
contd..
• Apart from its popular uses it also has undesirable effects.

• In many of the countries from where the calla lily originates

it is thought of as a weed and is ferociously cut down to
make way for agriculture.

• The Zantedeschia species are very poisonous, capable of

killing livestock and children.

• The poisonous principle seems to be a saponin, which

irritates the mucous membranes, causing swelling.
 Botany
• Herbacious with many long
petioled leaves arising from
a thick rhizome.

• Petioles are hairy or bristly

below and spongy through
out.

• Leaf lamina is sagittate,

lanceolate to cordate - ovate
in shape.

• Leaves are blotched with

white semi transparent
spots.
 Botany contd..
• Flowers are funnel shaped with a spadix.

• Peduncles are usually long, even longer than leaves.

• Spathes are longer, open with a recurved waxy tip.

• the whiteness of the spathe is not caused by

pigmentation, but is an optical effect produced by
numerous airspaces beneath the epidermis.
 Species and
cultivars
• Genus Zantedeschia has 7 species viz.,
• Zantedeshia aethiopica, Z. rehmanii, Z. jucunda, Z.
elliottiana, Z. pentlandii, Z. odorata, Z. albomaculata.

• Most prominent commercial Zantedeschias are

• Z. aethiopica (white)
• Z. elliottiana (Golden calla)
• Z. rehmanii (Pink)
 Breeding
• Hybrids have been developed by crossing

• Z. elliottiana x Z. rehmanii and

• Z. albomaculata x Z. pentlandii.

• Breeding programmes are mainly based on development of

cultivars with new colors, shape and resistance against
pests and diseases.
Amethyst Pink Rehmanni Blaze

Bridal Bliss Fire Glow Black Forest

Crystal Blush Garnet Glow Green Godess

Gold Rush Dwarf White Fire Glow

Gem Lavender Gem dark eyes Gem Rose

Mint Julip Rubylite Pink Intimote Ivory

Hot Flashes Lemon Drop White Albo Maculata

Little Jimmy Lipstick Peach chiffon

CULTIVATION
ASPECTS
 Soil
• They require rich loamy well drained soil containing
maximum organic matter.

• The best soil mixture is loamy soil and well rotted FYM.

• For optimum plant and tuber growth soil should be kept

moist.

• They can tolerate to pH range between 5-8.

 Climate

• Calla lilies prefer a warm head and cool feet and

therefore temperature is important to their performance.

• An ideal day temperature would be 18 to 25 °C and nights of

12 to 18 °C.

• They can be grown under a wide light range of 2,000 to 10,000

ft candles.

• Rhizomes forced under warmer temperatures and low light

conditions tend to develop plants with weak stems and paler
colored spathes.
 Climate contd..
• Very cool temperatures delay flowering increase
variability and promote diseases.

• Photoperiod does not influence on flowering in

Zantedeschia (Vered naor and Jaime kegel 2002).

• In India the plants can be grown in Nilgiri hills as well as

in other hill stations.

• In mild climate of Bangalore also this plant thrives well.

But it is difficult to cultivate in the plains.
 Temperature affects plant development, flowering and
tuber dormancy in calla lily (Zantedeschia).
Naor V and Kigel
J 2002
• Tubers of Black Magic (Z. albomaculata) and Calla Gold (Z.
rehmanii) were dipped in 200ppm GA3 before planting.

• The effects of temperature on the development of calla lily

was observed at 17/12, 22/17, 27/22 and 32/27°c of day and
night temperatures respectively.

• The effects of temperatures on dormancy and subsequent

flowerings under which tubers grew were studied.

• Rate of plant development including leaf production,

flowering and senescence generally increased with increasing
temperatures in range of 17/12 to 32/27°c.

• Maximum flowering occurred at 22/17°c in both cultivars.

• Tubers produced at 32/27°c and 27/22°c
did not sprout in the following growth
cycle.

• In contrast tubers produced at 22/17

and 17/12°c sprouted during storage,
reaching 75-100% sprouting after
planting.

• Dormancy of tubers was studied by

raising or lowering the temperatures
(23/15°c or 29/21°c) at different stages
during growth cycle (30, 60 and 90
DAP).
• Tubers from 29/21°c were more dormant
than tubers from 23/15°c.
• Increasing or decreasing the
 Propagation
• It can be propagated by seeds, rhizomes/tubers and micro
propagation.

Seed:
• Some species of Z. elliottiana can be very easily propagated
by seeds.

• The fruit is ripe when it has turned yellowish and is soft.

• Pulp should be removed and the seed is dried off.

• Grey seeds can be sown in clean seedling mix and covered

lightly.

• Sowing time is in the month of November.

Seeds ready to seedli
be sown ngs
 Propagation contd..

Rhizomes/Tubers:

• Conventional method of propagation of Z. aethiopica is

through rhizome where as in other species it is referred as
tubers.

• Rhizomes are divided in to reasonable

pieces.
 Propagation contd..

Micro propagation

• Variability of Zantedeschia cultivars by seed propagation

is very high.

• Traditional method of propagation by rhizomes can

result in 10 – 20 fold increase per year.

• Moreover, soft rots caused by Erwinia

can easily enter the wound area and
cause severe economic losses.
 Planting
• Tubers are planted at a depth of 3-4cm according to their
size.

• They are planted at 30-45 cm apart in beds.

• They can be planted in spring to early summer.

• Planting should be done so that tops of the tubers are

exposed.

• Tubers need to be pretreated with Gibberellic acid to

overcome dormancy.
 Irrigation

• Zantedeschia aeathiopica needs a lot of water.

• Water should be given plentifully when the plants are in

full leaf, keeping the soil constantly moist between
thorough irrigations.

• After harvest of flowers the plants need to be maintained

by continuing irrigation as rhizomes continue to increase
in size.

• After complete yellowing and withering of leaves with held

irrigation water.
 Manuring and
Fertilization
• Zantedeschia aethiopica grows fast and therefore it needs
sufficient fertilization.

• The addition of N,P,K,Mg plus trace elements is used to

supply the necessary nutrients for plant growth.

• Organic matter helps the nutrient and water holding capacity

of soils, and is greatly beneficial to tuber growth.

• For a 10m2 plot 40 kg FYM, 1 kg CAN, 2.5 kg SSP

and 750 g MOP.
 Manuring and
fertilization contd..
• In light soils application of liquid manure with 150g urea, 100g
MOP/10m2 help in growth and development.

• Excessive use of N will result in weak stems and leaf growth,

as well as increased susceptibility to soft rot.

• For fertigation 20:10:20 is recommended.

• Two fertigations /month @ 20 l/m2 each time should be given.

• Advanced flowering, highest bloom fresh weight and yield can

be obtained through lower levels (Clemens et al.,1998).
 Weed control
 Calla plants are tolerant to a range of herbicides in
the aid of weed control.

 A pre-plant eradication of perennial weeds with

Roundup and a pre-emergent application of
Simazine or Surflan is suggested.

 Weed control can be extended with an additional

post-emergent application of Simazine or Surflan.

 Weed control in the latter half of a calla's

production season is not a problem as the dense
foliage helps to reduce weed growth.
 Flowering and
pollination
• It takes 10-12 weeks to come to flowering from the
time of planting.

• The striking arum lily "flower" is actually many

tiny flowers arranged in a complex spiral pattern on the
central column (spadix).

• The tiny flowers are arranged in male and female zones on the
spadix. The top 7 cm are male flowers and the lower 1.8 cm
are female.

• The female flowers have an ovary with a short stalk above it,
which is the style (where the pollen is received).

• The spadix is surrounded by the white or coloured spathe.

 Flowering and pollination
contd..
• The flowers are faintly scented and this attracts various
crawling insects and bees which are responsible for pollinating
the flowers.

• Cross pollination occurs as the anthers of each

flower ripen before the ovaries.

• The spathe changes its color after flowering and

covers the ripening berries.

• It rots away when these are ripe and the succulent

yellow berries attract birds, which are responsible
for seed dispersal.
 Harvesting

• Harvest flowers in the cool of the morning or evening.

• Flowers should be harvested when the spathes

are fully open and about one day before the flowers
shed pollen.

• To ensure the longest possible stem length, flowers are

pulled rather than cut.

• Plants should be turgid when the flowers are pulled,

otherwise the stem is inclined to split along its length.
 Yield

• Yield of the flowers is influenced by age, size and variety of

the rhizome.

• In the second year, 10 to 20 flowers per grown up plant.

• By the 3rd year at least 24 long stemmed flowers appear in

a plant.

• But in some climates even up to 40 flowers per plant.

 Post harvest handling
• Post harvest life of Z. aethiopica 5- days
and
Z. elliottiana 7 days.

• Striking problem with post harvest

management of zantadeschia is split
stems followed by stem rolling.

• Once harvested and placed in water,

scapes absorb water rapidly and split at
the base ends.

• In severe cases the stems continue to

split with the ends rolling.
 Post harvest handling
contd..
• Flowers placed in this solution
should be hardened in a cool
storage facility (5-10°c)

• This will minimize stem splitting

and rotting, and control post
harvest fungal diseases.

• Re-cut the stems before they are

placed in
the condition solution.
 EFFECT OF GIBBERELLIC ACID ON THE POST-HARVEST
FLOWER LONGEVITY OF Zantedeschia elliottiana.

• Gibberellic acid extended the post - harvest

longevity of flowers of ‘Black Magic’ and
‘Florex Gold’ Zantedeschia cultivars.

• In the Black Magic cultivar unconditioned

flowers kept in gibberellic acid solutions at
concentrations of 50 and 100mg/l preserved
their ornamental qualities the longest.

• In ‘Florex Gold’ cultivar also both

concentrations of GA prolonged the post
harvest longevity of flowers.

• In the Florex Gold cultivar 2 hr conditioning of

flowers in a solution of 8 HQC extended their
longevity by an average of 6 days.
 Grading and packing
• Callas are usually graded based on stem length.

White varieties 70-120cm.

Colored varieties 50-70cm.

• Long stemmed callas are packed in bunches

of 5 and small stemmed callas in 10.

• Each bunch is wrapped with white tissue around the flowers.

• The bunches are then packed in card board cartons which are
lined to cushion the flowers and packed firmly to avoid flower
movement in transit.
 Use of growth
regulators
• Critical factors for zantedeschia as a potted
flowering plant include flower number, plant
height and shoot and leaf number.

• Plants with minimum height, more number of

shoots, and more number of flowers with less
peduncle length are important for a potted
plant.
• More number of flowers as well as longer
peduncle length are important for a plant
meant for cut flower production.

• For a plant growing for foliage purpose,

number of leaves is important factor.

• For extended availability of cut blooms from

deciduous species currently requires tuber
 Use of growth regulators
contd..
• Height of zantedeschia can be reduced by
the use of growth retardant paclobutrazole
when applied as soon as shoots begin to
emerge.

• Repeated applications may be needed,

depending on growing conditions and
cultivar.

• For smaller cultivars a range from 6 ppm

should help control height but for more
vigorous hybrids the rates may need to go
up to 10 ppm.
 Dwarfing effects of paclobutrazol and
chlorocholine chloride on potted
Zantedeschia antedeschia.
• Height control of potted Zantedeschia is
important.

• The effects of paclobutrazol (200, 300 or 400

mg/litre) and chlorocholine chloride
[chlormequat] (ccc; 1000, 1500 or 2000
mg/litre) on the growth of zantedeschia
cultivars on improved Lavender Gem and Super
Gem were studied.

• Dwarfed plants with thick stems were obtained

by spraying of paclobutrazol and ccc weekly for
one month.

• Paclobutrazol was more effective than ccc in

dwarfing of plants, and the optimum
 Growth regulators
contd..
• Extensive work has been done to know the effect of gibberellic
acid on flower yield and quality.

• Gibberellic acid can also be used to assure flowering of 1or 2 yr

old tubers and increase the number of stems per tuber.

• It can be applied at 50 to 100ppm as a 30 min. tuber dip to

stimulate growth and flowering.

• A seven fold increase in flower number by foliar

spray of Gibberellins at 100ppm was reported
(Singh et al., 2001).
 Use of growth
regulatorsYusef
contd.
S. Ali and T.
• Growth and flowering ofElkiey
calla lily
1995was studied
by applying GA3 @ 0, 250 and 500ppm and
chlormequat @ 0, 1000 and 3000ppm as
tuber dip and foliar spray either individually
or in combination.

• GA3 treatments either as rhizome spray or as

foliar spray at both concentrations
significantly increased plant height.

• Treatment of rhizomes with CCC 3000ppm

inhibited growth of Zantedeschia plants.

• GA3 treatment sequentially applied with CCC

overcame the limitation of plant height
T1 control
T2 250ppm GA3 soaking
T3 250ppm GA3 foliar spray
T4 500ppm GA3soaking
T5 500ppm GA3 foliar spray
T6 1000ppm CCC soaking
T7 1000ppm CCC drench
T8 3000ppm CCC soaking
T9 3000ppm CCC drench
T10 250ppm GA3 soaking +

1000ppm CCC drench

T11 500ppm GA3 soaking +
3000ppm CCC drench
GA3 and CCC on days to flower:

• Pre plant treatment of rhizomes with GA3

at both concentrations significantly promoted
earliness in flowering by 6 days than control.

• All the CCC treatments singly delayed the

promotion of flowering by 5-7 days.

• Treatments 250ppm GA3 sequentially applied with

1000ppm CCC also significantly delayed the
flower initiation by 5 days.
T1 control

T2 250ppm GA3 soaking

T3 250ppm GA3 foliar spray

T4 500ppm GA3 soaking

T5 500ppm GA3 foliar spray

T6 1000ppm CCC soaking

T7 1000ppm CCC drench

T8 3000ppm CCC soaking

T9 3000ppm CCC drench

T10 250ppm GA3 soaking +

1000ppm CCC drench

T11 500ppm GA3 soaking +

• GA3 and CCC on Total number of
flowers:

• Only pre plant soaking of rhizomes with either 250ppm or

500ppm GA3 produced significantly higher number of flowers
per plant.

• Foliar spray of GA3 was ineffective in increasing the number

of flowers.
• CCC either as soaking or as foliar spray was ineffective in
decreasing the number of flowers compared to control.

• When GA3 sequentially applied with CCC either as rhizome

soaking or as foliar spray, the number of flowers were
significantly increased.
T1 control

T2 250ppm GA3 soaking

T3 250ppm GA3 foliar spray

T4 500ppm GA3 soaking

T5 500ppm GA3 foliar spray

T6 1000ppm CCC soaking

T7 1000ppm CCC drench

T8 3000ppm CCC soaking

T9 3000ppm CCC drench

T10 250ppm GA3 soaking +

1000ppm CCC drench

T11 500ppm GA3 soaking +

 Gibberellin- induced flowering in small tubers
of Zantedeschia ‘Black Magic’
Brooking and
Cohen 2002
• Small tubers of Zantedeschia ‘Black Magic’
were used to study the induction of flowering
by GA3 and combination of GA4 + GA7

• The proportion of shoots initiating

inflorescences increased with increased
doses of either gibberellin type.

• In addition, there was an increase in the

proportion of initiated flowers that
subsequently emerged and an increase in the
initiation of axillary buds.
 Tuber lifting
• After harvest of flowers the plants need to be maintained
by continuing irrigation as rhizomes continue to increase
in size.

• Senescence begins with the onset of yellow and decaying

leaves and tubers can be lifted by hand digging or modified
potato harvesters.

• During plant senescence, tuberization (the replication of

new tubers) is completed.
 Tuber lifting
• A protective skin begins to develop on the exterior
of rhizomes.

• Warm temperatures accelerates this process.

• Great care should be taken during lifting, as

young tubers are easily bruised or injured,
allowing diseases to enter.

• It is also important not to harvest the tubers prior

to the beginning of plant senescence.
 Curing
• Wash tubers gently to remove soil.

• Then dip tubers in an appropriate fungicide solution (e.g.

Kocide) for 5-10 minutes. This helps to eliminate fungal
pathogens. Dry tubers within 4-6 hours with air assisted fans.

• Subsequently cure bulbs for 3-7 days ensuring good air

movement.

• Temperature and humidity in the curing chamber or empty

glass houses should be maintained between 20-240c. And 70-
80% respectively for 2 weeks.
 Curing contd..

• This curing stage is important in forming an outer skin on

the tuber, which acts as a barrier to dehydration and
disease.

• When curing is over roots are removed and rhizomes are

placed top side up in boxes or trays with dry packing.

• The dry packing material may be saw dust, wood shavings

or rice hulls which prevent continued water loss and
prevent shrinkage of rhizomes.
 References
• Peng Feng, Chen Yan Yan, HaoMing, Xia Bing 2000
Dwarfing effects of paclobutrazol and chlorocholine
chloride on potted Zantedeschia antedeschia. Journal of
Plant Resources and Environment. 63 (2): 178-179.

• Corr B Weidmer R E 1987 Gibberellic acid increases

flower number in Zantedeschia elliottiana and Zantedeschia
rehmanii. Hort Science 22 (4): 605-607.

• Clemens J Dennis J and Butler R C 1998 Mineral Nutrition

of Zantedeschia plants effect plant survival, tuber yield and
flowering upon replanting. Journal of Horticultural Science
and Biotechnology 73: 755-762.