Performance of Gerbera Cultivars under Shadehouse

Ten gerbera (Gerbera hybrida Hort.) cultivars ('Dalma', 'Rosalin', 'Sunway', 'Dana Ellen', 'Savannah', 'Pink Elegance', 'Goliath', 'Fusion', 'Entourage' and 'Winter Queen') new to the Indian cut flower industry were cultivated under shade house and evaluated over a two-year period. Variations in the number of days until first harvest, flower yield and quality were particularly significant, with the variety Savannah out performing the rest. First harvest for Savannah was 70 days, while Dana Ellen and Rosalin needed 89 and 98 respectively. Savannah produced more average total yield of flowers per plant (17.7) and per m(2) (101.7), with Fusion yielding the lowest (10.5 flowers per plant and 51.9 per m(2)). Flower quality parameters (diameter, stalk length and girth, and length of ray florets) were also consistently higher for Savannah, although Goliath produced significantly more ray florets than any of the other cultivars tested.