Chrysanthemum Farming in India: Types, Varieties, Propagation, Planting Time, Pinching, Disbudding, Nutrition, Pests, Diseases, Harvest and Yield

Chrysanthemum (guldaudi, shevanti) is a short-day flower: it makes flower buds when nights lengthen, so most Indian crops bloom in November and December. ICAR describes the uses as cut flowers, loose flowers for garlands and worship, pot plants, exhibition and interior decoration, and garden bedding. Terminal cuttings of 5 to 7 cm are taken from mother plants in mid June to end July and root in 2 to 3 weeks. TNAU plants at 30 x 30 cm, about 111,000 plants per ha, and quotes 20 t per ha from the plant crop. ICAR gives 60,000 to 80,000 cut flowers per acre or 20 to 50 q per acre of loose flowers. Pinch spray types at 4 and 7 weeks, disbud standard types, stake, and keep nights dark and drainage good. Main problems are aphids, thrips, leaf miner, red spider mite, Fusarium wilt, rust and Septoria leaf spot.

Chrysanthemum, called guldaudi or shevanti in many places, is an Asteraceae flower grown for loose flowers, cut flowers, pot plants and garden beds. ICAR calls it the third most important commercial loose flower in India after rose and marigold, so there is a real market, but it needs more skill than marigold.

The ICAR-DFR article (Prasad and Saha) describes it as the Queen of the East, a short-day plant that normally flowers in winter, with year-round production possible through photo- and thermo-insensitive varieties and light-cycle management. The 2025 Indian Horticulture article from PAU and ICAR lists the uses: cut flowers for bouquets, loose flowers for garlands and worship, pot culture, and garden decoration. If you already grow marigold, read our marigold flower farming guide first, because many field steps (raised beds, weeding, picking time) are similar, but chrysanthemum adds cuttings, pinching and flower-bud timing.

The type decides almost every later choice. Standard types carry one large flower per stem. Spray types carry many smaller flowers. Pot mums are short and compact. Loose flowers are picked without stems for garlands, and cut flowers are sold on long stems.

ICAR also groups flower forms into incurved, intermediate, reflexed, quill, spider, anemone, pompon, decorative, Korean, spoon and thistle classes. You do not need the class names to start farming.

Chrysanthemum wants full sun, a well-drained soil and moderate temperatures: 20 to 28 C by day and 16 to 20 C at night, according to ICAR. The effect of night temperature is stronger than day temperature. Waterlogging is the main soil risk, and low light gives weak, lanky plants with few buds.

Two sources differ slightly on night temperature (16 to 20 C in ICAR, 15 to 20 C in TNAU). The overlap, 16 to 20 C, is the safe range to plan around. If your soil pH or drainage is doubtful, our post on soil pH and nutrient lock explains why feeding does not work when pH is off.

A short-day plant makes flower buds only when the night is long enough. TNAU keeps polyhouse plants on long days while they grow and moves to short days for flowering, so extra light at night is a risk. ICAR says the crop blooms in November and December, with a few early varieties starting in October.

ICAR 2025 says the crop blooms in November and December and that a few early varieties start in October. Year-round supply comes from photoperiod manipulation or from photo- and thermo-insensitive varieties. For polyhouse cut flowers, TNAU gives a clear schedule.

In open fields you cannot control day length, so you control the planting date instead. A street lamp or yard light shining on the crop at night is a risk that follows from this schedule, and our post on winter flowers in pots makes the same point for balcony plants. TNAU also warns of blindness, where rosetted growth appears if nights are too cold and days short during bud formation, and of shoots that keep growing without buds if night temperature is too low when short days begin.

Pick the variety by purpose. ICAR lists named varieties for pot, loose, cut and bedding use, PAU describes Punjab Shingar for loose flowers and Punjab Mohini for pots, and TNAU lists CO 1, CO 2 and MDU 1 for Tamil Nadu. Match the variety to your market first, then trial two or three on a small plot.

PAU's Madhu Bala describes two PAU varieties in Indian Horticulture. Punjab Shingar is a floriferous, compact, upright variety with white decorative flowers, suited to loose-flower production. Punjab Mohini is a dwarf, compact variety that needs no pinching or staking, with single white Korean-type flowers with a yellow centre, suited to pots.

Use terminal cuttings of 5 to 7 cm from healthy mother plants, or suckers. ICAR says cuttings are generally prepared from mid June to end July, rooted in burnt rice husk or sand under partial shade, and root in 2 to 3 weeks. Seed is not true to type, so it is used only for breeding.

To avoid rotting of cuttings, ICAR says recommended fungicides can be applied with a sprinkling can; it does not name one, so ask your KVK. TNAU notes that wilt spreads mainly through cuttings, so the source of your planting material matters more than any spray (see the wilt section).

How do you keep a mother block for cuttings?

After flowering, healthy suckers sprout from the base in February and March. ICAR says to remove the dry flowering shoots, replant good suckers on raised beds at 30 x 30 cm, pinch the new shoots in April and May, and take cuttings in June and July. Keep the mother plants under partial shade.

1. February to March: pull healthy suckers from the old crop and replant them on raised beds at 30 x 30 cm.
2. March: the stock plants grow vigorously and make many side branches.
3. April to May: pinch the new shoots to get more cutting wood.
4. June to July: take 5 to 7 cm terminal cuttings and root them.
5. Throughout: keep stock plants under partial shade and feed and water according to growth, soil and weather (ICAR 2025).

A good mother block is the cheapest disease control you have. Take cuttings only from plants that looked clean through the whole season, and throw away any that showed yellowing from the base or stunting. UC IPM repeats the advice to use disease-free cuttings for many of the chrysanthemum diseases in its table (wilt, hollow stem, bacterial blight, ray blight, viruses and viroids); that is American advice but the logic holds anywhere.

For the main winter crop, ICAR says take terminal cuttings from mid June to end July; they root in 2 to 3 weeks and the crop flowers in November and December. TNAU gives June to July as the general planting time, and April to May for flowering in September to December in Tamil Nadu.

I could not find an opened state department or ICAR calendar for Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal or the hill states, so none is shown. Work backwards from the month you want to sell, because the crop is a short-day plant. The 5 to 6 week figure in the TNAU polyhouse schedule applies only where lights control day length, not to open fields. Test one small plot, and confirm dates with your KVK or state horticulture department.

Prepare a fine, well-drained bed with plenty of organic matter. TNAU plants the commercial crop at 30 x 30 cm on one side of ridges, which is about 111,000 plants per ha. In polyhouse beds, TNAU uses 15 x 15 cm (45 plants per square metre) or 10 x 15 cm (67 plants per square metre).

TNAU's polyhouse beds are 1 m wide and 0.3 m high, with nets of a cell size matched to the spacing laid on the bed before planting. In pots, ICAR uses a mix of garden soil, sand and leaf mould or well-rotted FYM at 2:1:1, with a single rooted cutting per pot for no-pinch, no-stake and spreading varieties. For pot care, see our winter flowers in pots post.

Pinching removes the growing tip so the plant makes side branches. Disbudding removes flower buds so the remaining bud grows larger. ICAR says pinch at 4 and 7 weeks after transplanting, mainly in spray types, and disbud mainly standard types in August and September.

The timings differ because the crops differ: open-field loose flowers, Tamil Nadu plains and polyhouse cut flowers. Pick the row that matches your system and do not stack them. Dwarf pot varieties such as Punjab Mohini need no pinching or staking, so do not pinch them. Our pot guide covers the 6-inch and 12-inch pinches for balcony plants.

How do you stake chrysanthemum plants?

Stake tall or large-flowered types to stop lodging. ICAR says use bamboo sticks or plastic nets, with net levels raised as the crop grows. Standard varieties with big flowers may need one stake per plant, and spray varieties in pots need two or three stakes around the pot rim.

In the field, ICAR says net levels can be raised to different heights above the ground as the crop grows. In polyhouses, TNAU's beds already carry a net matched to the spacing.

Feed according to soil fertility. ICAR applies potash and phosphorus as basal doses at the last ploughing and nitrogen in two splits, one and two months after transplanting. TNAU adds 25 t per ha of FYM and splits nitrogen half basal and half 30 days after planting. Get a soil test before settling on doses.

The TNAU page prints the line as 125:120:25 kg NPK per ha in the usual N, P, K order but does not say whether P and K are given as oxides, so I have not converted it to a per-acre schedule. Ask your KVK for the dose that matches your soil test. TNAU links yellowing of the upper leaves to over-watering, excessive fertiliser in the soil, or pests and disease on the roots (TNAU cut chrysanthemum), so more is not better.

Many of the same organic inputs work as in marigold, and our marigold biofertiliser and manure guide explains how FYM, Azospirillum and PSB are applied; this post does not repeat their doses. For colour changes on leaves, the marigold deficiency guide shows how to read leaf age first. If you use bio-inputs, the bio fertilizer collection shows what is available; the collection page does not mention chrysanthemum. TNAU's weekly polyhouse schedule includes a 19-19-19 grade among its water-soluble feeds. For a balanced water-soluble top-up through drip or foliar spray, the NPK 19 19 19 water-soluble fertilizer page lists flowers as a general crop group and says it is a top-up between soil applications, not a replacement. See also the wider NPK fertilizer range, and read water-soluble versus granular fertiliser before choosing. Always follow the label dose.

If you want a seaweed-based spray, the seaweed extract page lists flowers as a broad group and says it is used alongside normal fertiliser, not instead of it. It does not name chrysanthemum.

Keep moisture even, never waterlogged. TNAU irrigates twice a week in the first month and weekly after that for the open-field crop. In polyhouses, TNAU gives drip at 8 to 9 litres per square metre per day. Waterlogging is the main risk because chrysanthemum is sensitive to it (ICAR 2025).

TNAU associates yellowing of the upper leaves with over-watering (cut chrysanthemum page), and wet foliage favours Septoria leaf spot (TNAU) and rust (UC IPM) (see below). Drip or watering at the base is safer than overhead sprinklers. A layer of mulch holds moisture and suppresses weeds; our mulching guide covers types and depth. ICAR advises 3 to 4 hand weedings in the season, especially early, because weed competition is strongest while the crop is still vegetative.

The main sucking pests are aphids and thrips, with leaf miner and red spider mite also listed by TNAU for cut chrysanthemum. ICAR says infested plants stay small and buds fail to open. ICAR calls washing plants with soapy water very effective on aphids and thrips. TNAU lists yellow sticky traps, 10 per 100 square metres, for thrips in polyhouses.

NC State Extension lists the same groups (aphids, thrips, mites, leaf miner and others) and says IPM should use biological, cultural and chemical tactics, with chemicals as a last resort. Check the current CIB&RC registration and the product label before you spray.

Our neem oil dilution guide explains dilution and when not to use neem oil. The activated neem oil insecticide page names aphids, thrips and spider mites and lists flowers only as a general crop group; it does not name chrysanthemum, so read the label, follow its timing advice and test on a few plants first.

TNAU's four chrysanthemum disease pages cover Fusarium wilt, rust, Septoria leaf spot and powdery mildew. ICAR names leaf spot as the major disease and adds stem rot in warm, humid weather. Clean planting material, drainage, dry foliage and early removal of sick plants do more than any spray.

Leaf spot is called the major disease by ICAR, with small circular bronze areas on the upper leaf surface that enlarge into irregular spots. ICAR says leaf spot can be controlled by spraying recommended fungicides and that recommended pesticides or fungicides should be used in severe attacks; it names none and the four TNAU disease pages list none, so ask your KVK. Check the current CIB&RC registration and the product label before you spray. For how spraying, drenching and dusting differ, see fungicide application methods.

If you want a bio-fungicide option for the soil-borne side, the Pseudomonas fluorescens fungicide page names wilt among its diseases but lists no flower crops. TNAU does describe a Pseudomonas fluorescens dip for rooted chrysanthemum cuttings against wilt, but the Katyayani page does not describe that dip, so I am not saying the product is meant for it. Treat it as an option to discuss with your KVK. For the bio-agent basics, see Trichoderma and Beauveria at home.

For generic disease basics shared with other flowers, such as airflow, pruning and removing fallen leaves, our rose plant care guide sets them out; the diseases above are chrysanthemum-specific.

They can, and the shared lesson is clean planting material. UC IPM lists foliar nematode (which it calls rarely important in California), stunt viroid, aspermy and spotted wilt among chrysanthemum diseases and advises disease-free cuttings. TNAU gives only cultural steps for chrysanthemum mosaic: virus-free indexed cuttings, destroying infected plants and weed hosts.

• Foliar nematode: UC IPM advises disease-free plants, discarding infected ones, avoiding overhead irrigation and controlling weeds.
• Viruses and viroids: UC IPM says stunt and chlorotic mottle viroids and aspermy virus spread by handling and cutting tools, aspermy also by aphids, and spotted wilt by thrips (not by the cutting knife). It advises disease-free or indexed cuttings and controlling aphids and thrips.
• White rust: TNAU lists white rust as a disease of cut chrysanthemum. UC IPM says it is not confirmed as established in the United States and is handled as a quarantine pest there, and it gives no control steps. If you see whitish pustules on leaf undersides, ask your KVK for identification quickly.
• Root-knot nematodes in soil: I did not open an Indian chrysanthemum-specific source for these, so no management is given.

Day length sets flower timing: TNAU keeps polyhouse plants on long days while they grow and moves them to short days for flowering. ICAR says year-round flowers are produced by photoperiod manipulation or photo- and thermo-insensitive varieties. TNAU gives the polyhouse schedule: 13 h light for vegetative growth, then 10 h light and 14 h dark.

In practice the sequence for a protected cut-flower crop is: plant, keep days long (13 h) for 4 to 5 weeks or until plants reach 50 to 60 cm, then shorten days to 10 h for flowering until harvest (TNAU). TNAU also lists disorders that follow wrong timing: continued shoot growth without buds when night temperature is too low as short days begin, and blindness (rosetted growth) when nights are too low and days short during bud formation. Failure of centre petals comes from excessive heat or low food supply in dark weather.

I did not find an opened Indian source that gives blackout-cloth hours or night-break lamp wattage for chrysanthemum, so none are shown. Ask your KVK or a floriculture research institute before investing in a lighting system.

Harvest stage depends on the market. ICAR says pick standard types fully open but before the central disc florets lengthen, and spray types fully open but before pollen sheds. TNAU harvests nearby-market loose flowers at three-quarters to fully open, and distant-market flowers at half open.

TNAU says harvest in the open-field crop begins from the third month and is repeated at 4-day intervals.

Stand cut stems in water straight away, grade them, and bunch them. TNAU cuts polyhouse stems to a standard 90 cm, bunches them in fives with a rubber band at the base, sleeves them in plastic and keeps them in water-filled buckets. In TNAU's data a sucrose pulse lengthened vase life and a perforated polysleeve lengthened shelf life.

These are one university's trial figures for cut stems, so they do not apply to loose flowers sold by weight. For loose flowers the practical rules are picking at the right stage, avoiding wet or crushed flowers in the bag, and reaching the buyer fast.

ICAR gives 60,000 to 80,000 cut flowers per acre, or 20 to 50 quintals per acre of loose flowers. TNAU quotes 20 t per ha from the plant crop and 10 t per ha from the ratoon crop. In polyhouses, TNAU lists 67 standard stems or 260 spray stems per square metre.

Crop duration, TNAU says, is 6 to 8 months for the plant crop and 4 months for the ratoon crop. The numbers come from different systems, so do not add or compare them directly. Your own yield will depend on variety, cutting quality, pinching, and the weather in the bud stage.

ICAR groups chrysanthemum by market use: loose flowers for garlands and worship, cut flowers for bouquets and arrangements, pot mums for indoor and outdoor decoration, and bedding types for gardens. Rooted cuttings and potted plants are also sold, and value-added products such as garlands and dried flowers are possible.

Decide the market before you choose the type, because the type decides the variety, spacing and pinching. ICAR advises growers to book planting material from certified nurseries, State nurseries and state agricultural or horticultural universities. If you plan a protected crop, our post on greenhouse farming types and structures covers the structure side, and the TNAU polyhouse figures above show what the crop needs inside it.

The mistakes that cost the most are poor planting material, wrong timing, overwatering and ignoring night light. Each shows up as stunting, no buds or rotting, and most can be avoided before the crop is planted by following the sourced schedules above.

• Taking cuttings from sick plants. TNAU says wilt spreads mainly through cuttings.
• Pinching the wrong type. Pot varieties like Punjab Mohini need no pinching, and standard types are disbudded rather than pinched for flower size.
• Mixing up schedules. ICAR (4 and 7 weeks), TNAU open field (4 weeks) and TNAU polyhouse (3 and 5 weeks) differ; use the one that matches your system.
• Lights near the crop. Chrysanthemum is a short-day plant, so lamps on the crop at night work against the dark period it needs.
• Too much fertiliser or water. TNAU links upper-leaf yellowing to over-watering and excessive fertiliser in the soil.
• Wet foliage in the rains. Septoria leaf spot is favoured by cool, wet weather, rain splash and excess irrigation.
• Reusing the same land every year. TNAU lists crop rotation as part of wilt management.

Conclusion

Chrysanthemum rewards growers who treat it as a timing and hygiene crop. Choose the type for your buyer, start from clean cuttings in June and July, plant at the spacing for your system, pinch or disbud according to the type, and keep nights dark and drainage good. Watch for aphids, thrips, leaf miner, wilt, rust and leaf spot,. Check the current CIB&RC registration and the product label before you spray, and run a small plot first to see how your variety behaves.