Integreated Nutrient Management in Polyhouse Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum occupies a prominent place in ornamental horticulture, is one of the commercially exploited flower crops belongs to the family 'Asteraceae' and is known as "Queen of East". There is hardly any other garden flower which has such diverse and beautiful range of colour shades, shapes and height range as chrysanthemum, making it suitable for every purpose conceivable for a flower crop. The plant grows erect and tall making it suitable for border planting, loose flower, or as cut flowers. It is also grown in pots for flower shows. The utility and popularity of the chrysanthemum have increased greatly with the technique of year-round blooming habit. Any attempt to increase the efficiency of organic as well as inorganic fertilizers on growth and flower yield of chrysanthemum is the need of hour. So, to get higher flower yield, the use of bio fertilizers (viz., Azotobacter and Phospho-bacteria) along organic manures with balance use of inorganic fertilizers is of paramount importance in Horticulture in general and Floriculture in particular, since the Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) concept is one of the eco-friendly approaches.