my carnation stems are thin and short, want to fix the feeding and bed media to get better grade stems
What fertigation and growing medium does carnation need for good stem quality?
NNitin Mohite5mo ago · 276 views
4 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓5mo ago
Carnation needs a well drained, slightly raised bed media with good aeration, often soil improved with well rotted organic matter, sand or coco peat so water never stands, because waterlogging triggers wilt and weak stems. Feeding is given through drip fertigation in small frequent doses rather than heavy single doses, with a balanced nutrient schedule that supports steady stem growth, and calcium and the right potash level matter for stem strength and bloom quality. Thin short stems often come from poor light, overcrowding, weak feeding or root problems in a soggy bed, so check all of these. Keep the bed pH and salts in a sensible range and flush the beds periodically to avoid salt build up from fertigation. For an exact fertigation schedule and target nutrient levels, get a soil and water test done and confirm the recipe with your KVK or a floriculture specialist, since it depends on your water quality and variety.
PPradeep5mo ago
Frequent small fertigation doses worked far better for me than big shots. The plant takes it up steadily and the stems came out stronger. Big single doses just built up salts in my beds.
SSambhaji5mo ago
My thin stems were really a drainage problem, the bed stayed wet. Once I rebuilt the beds higher with more coco peat and sand the roots improved and so did the stems.
VVikram Jadhav5mo ago
Get the water tested, our borewell water was salty and it was quietly hurting the crop. After we managed the salts and flushed the beds the grade improved. Do not skip the water test.