Gladiolus Farming in India 2026

Gladiolus is one of the easiest cut flowers to grow in India because it is an open-field crop grown from corms, with no polyhouse needed, and it fits well in a rotation after grain crops in the North Indian plains. It works best in a cool, bright season (day temperature up to 25 °C, night up to 16 °C), in well-drained sandy soil, and only pays when the spikes can reach a florist or flower market while still tight in bud.

The figures below come mainly from Punjab Agricultural University's 2022 ornamental crops package. A reliable current price per spike and an Indian cost-of-production table could not be verified, so the returns section shows the arithmetic and leaves the price to your local market.

Where it grows in India

• PAU states that gladiolus is cultivated in almost all states of India, and that subtropical regions of India can export to temperate countries between November and April.
• Climate: day temperature up to 25 °C and night temperature up to 16 °C are ideal. At least 8 hours of light a day is needed; long days improve spike quality, while short days favour corm and cormel production.
• Soil: fertile, well-drained sandy soil with pH 6.0 to 6.5 and medium fertility. Waterlogged or heavy sticky soil rots corms and delays growth; add compost or FYM to heavy soils.

Varieties

• ICAR-IARI (Pusa series) and ICAR-IIHR (Arka series) have also released gladiolus varieties; ask the institute or your KVK which ones suit your region, and buy corms from a nursery that supplies a named, disease-free variety.

Planting

• Season (Punjab): the main planting is September to October. Plant every 10 to 15 days from mid-August to mid-December to spread harvest and avoid a market glut. For early spikes, plant from the first week of July to the third week of August; the crop comes in October and November.
• Spacing and depth: 30 x 20 cm, which takes 60,000 to 70,000 corms per acre (about 1.5 to 1.7 lakh per hectare). Plant 7 to 10 cm deep, depending on corm size.
• Cormels: dipping small cormels in GA3 at 200 mg per litre for 24 hours gives flowering-size corms in 2 years instead of about 4 by natural growth, according to PAU.
• Storage of planting corms: corm storage at 4 to 7 °C improves growth and flowering.

Nutrition and irrigation

• Basal (PAU, per acre): 20 tonnes FYM, 40 kg P2O5 and 40 kg potash at field preparation (about 50 t FYM and 100 kg P2O5 per hectare).
• Nitrogen (PAU, per acre): 80 kg at the 3-leaf stage, and 80 kg together with 40 kg potash at the 6-leaf stage. This is a heavy dose; confirm it against your soil test and with your KVK. See fertilizers.
• Irrigation: every 7 to 10 days from October to February, then every 4 to 5 days in March and April depending on heat. Water stress right after sprouting and at the 4 to 6 leaf stage hurts most. Stop irrigation at least 4 to 6 weeks before lifting corms.
• Cultivation: 2 to 3 hoeings, the last one after flowering during corm growth, and earthing up 10 to 15 cm at the 4 to 6 leaf stage to prevent lodging.

Diseases

• Fusarium wilt and corm rot: yellowing, wilting and sickle-shaped leaves; in storage, brown lesions turn corms hard and blackish. It is worst at 25 to 30 °C and survives in corms and soil. PAU advises healthy corms, keeping irrigation water from infected fields flowing into clean ones, and curing harvested corms at 30 to 35 °C for 7 to 10 days and discarding any with rot before storage.
• Botrytis blight: yellowish-brown leaf spots and grey mould on spikes, favoured by about 20 ± 5 °C with long leaf wetness. Avoid overhead watering late in the day and remove infected debris.
• For any spray, use only registered chemicals, follow the label and ask your KVK. See pests.

Harvest and yield

• Spikes appear in 60 to 120 days depending on variety.
• Cut with secateurs in the early morning or late evening and put the stems into water at once. For a local market, cut when the lowest floret is fully open; for a distant market, cut when the lowest 1 to 3 florets show colour (tight bud).
• Yield (PAU): at 60,000 corms per acre, about 70,000 to 75,000 spikes and 70,000 to 80,000 corms per acre (about 1.7 to 1.85 lakh spikes per hectare).
• Spikes cut at tight bud can be stored in a cold room; PAU reports 10 days at 5 °C in perforated sleeves with a further 13 days of acceptable quality, so surplus can be held back from a weak market.
• Corms: lift 8 to 10 weeks after spike harvest when leaves yellow and dry; separate corms from cormels, wash, grade and dry in shade for 7 to 10 days, then store in bags at 4 to 7 °C until the next planting.

Cost and returns

• Revenue arithmetic: spikes per acre x price per spike. At PAU's 70,000 to 75,000 spikes per acre, every ₹1 of price per spike is ₹70,000 to ₹75,000 per acre. Check the price in your nearest flower market in the month you will cut, because it swings with weddings and festivals.
• Corms as a second income: 70,000 to 80,000 corms per acre can be replanted or sold as planting material, but only well-graded, disease-free corms sell.
• Costs to count: corms (a large cost at 60,000 to 70,000 per acre), FYM, fertiliser, irrigation, labour for planting, earthing up, cutting and packing, cold storage for corms, transport and market commission. A verified Indian per-acre cost figure was not available; ask the state horticulture department or KVK for the current norm.

Market and risks

• Buyers are city flower markets, florists, decorators and bouquet makers. Prices swing with the wedding and festival calendar.
• Main risks are corm rot from poor corms or wet soil, a glut when many farmers plant together, and spikes opening before they reach the market.
• Selling as a group through an FPO can help with transport and bargaining. Check crop calendar and subsidy finder for support to cut-flower growers in your state; no current rate was verified here.

Sources

• Punjab Agricultural University, Ornamental Crops (PAU/2022/F/792/E), gladiolus chapter