Floriculture prospects in Arunachal Pradesh with special reference to orchids

Floriculture is commercial production, marketing and retail sale of cut flowers and potted plants as well as home gardening and flower arrangement. Arunachal Pradesh has started to promote floriculture, especially orchids for export oriented cut-flower industries. The diverse agro-climatic condition provides an ideal opportunity for growth of agro-based industries. Floriculture is one of such industry having great potential in the state. In this paper an attempt has been made to analyze the problems and prospects of floriculture in Arunachal Pradesh with a focus on orchids. A comprehensive survey and interview was conducted for the existing orchid research and development centers to derive suitable conclusions. The study reveals about 550 species of orchids in the state, out of which about 100 species are ornamental belonging to genera Aerides, Ascocentrum, Calanthe, Cymbidium, Dendrobium, Epidendrum, Paphiopedilum Phaius, Renanthera, Rhynchostylis, Vanda, etc. So far five hybrid genus - Renades “Arunodaya” Arachnocentron “Tipi Jubilee star”, Esmeranda “Millennium Dawn”, Cymbidium Sessa “Green Beauty” and Ascocenda “Tipi Blue Boy” were successfully introduced in the state.