Floriculture Sustainability Initiative: The Dawn of New Era

Floriculture is a subdiscipline of horticultural sciences, concerning with growing, handling, maintaining and marketing of ornamentals, growing at the neck breaking speed, reflecting the dynamics of this business globally. In Europe 60,000 hectares contribute about worlds half flower production while per capita consumption of live plants and cut flowers is maximum in Norway, Switzerland, Germany followed by other countries mainly from EU. In 2013, global total floriculture exports amounted to USD 20.6 billion as against USD 21.1 billion in 2011. With a combination of locally produced flowers and imported flowers, the Netherlands is a dominant central market for global cut flower trade. Sustainability of floriculture is aiming to reduce environmental degradation, maintaining productivity, promoting economic viability, conserving resources and energy, and maintaining stable communities and quality of life. The sustainable practices include INM (Integrated Nutrient Management), IPM (Integrated Pest Management), crop rotation, efficient utilisation of water, and use of energy efficient lightening systems LED’s (Light Emitting Diodes).