Past Featured Articles

Featured Past Articles

Who is Nirzar Jundre?
(Backgroundpersonal and as a grower) I am a Kenyan of Indian Origin. Professionally I studied B.Sc. Agriculture and Masters in Personnel management, it was my Father who sent me to study horticulture after my 10th std., and otherwise I wanted to study Mechanical engineering, immediately I developed interest in horticulture. I was good in my studies, as well as sports and managed to be general champion in Athletics during my University days.

I started my career in 1993 after graduating where I worked in companies dealing with Tissue Culture technique for plant propagation. After three and a half years, I got a chance to work with a flower farm growing Roses, Gerbera & Carnation. Three and a half years later, I got a chance to come to Kenya that is, year 2000 with recommendation from my good friend and Guru in floriculture Mr. Avinash Mokate. I joined Liki River Farm as a Flower Manager, where I initiated the first commercial Rose cultivation for Vegpro group. In the beginning it was a challenge for me to train people who had been working with vegetable production to flower growing but with team work, we succeeded. It was really a good experience.

Read more: Flower Buyers Flock Nairobi.

Flower prices over the last six years have grown at only 7 percent whereas costs of production in Kenya have risen by more than 50 percent. This has impacted on the profits and ability to reinvest and expand. Principal amongst these cost increases are power and labour. In addition, the industry has also sought to absorb cost increases through improved efficiencies. This was said by Mr. Richard Fox, Kenya Flower Council Chairman, during the opening of IFTEX 2014.

Growth
Admireably, the industry has been growing from 1995 when flower exports amounted to 25,000 tonnes.

Speaking during the annual industry event, he added that the industry grew annually at a remarkable 10 percent up to 2008 when it reached 120,000 tonnes and became one of the top forex earners for the economy, contributing 3 percent to GDP and 9 percent of Kenya’s exports. Equally importantly the industry has created more than 50,000 jobs in direct employment and many more in support industries and services.

Introduction
Botrytis is one of the most damaging pathogens with stems, leaves, flowers, fruit and seedlings all being potential victims. Many growers are familiar with the symptoms of Botrytis, but for some, the first encounter with this pathogen results in severe plants losses therefore early detection and control are vital if the disease is to be prevented from rapidly spreading though a crop.

While Botrytis is a formidable pathogen, it is also the same fungi which is employed by some wine makers and was even given the name ‘The Nobel rot’ for its ability to concentrate sugars and impart a particular flavor to late harvest grapes. Wine makers in many areas of the world make use of Botrytis infection of their grapes to produce a sweet, high quality wine, which commands high prices. Despite this beneficial use of Botrytis, it is a disease, which plagues commercial and hobbyist growers alike, and one that affects virtually all of the crops we grow hydroponically.

Over 20% of the flowers shipped by growers never reach the final consumer in the export market because they are lost or damaged during the various stages of the distribution chain. Losses can be reduced by ensuring more careful handling, better temperature regulation, attention to phytosanitary requirements and the use of suitable preservation agents. Such measures may be inadequate and even fruitless, however, if not combined with appropriate export packaging.

Because flowers and plants are living and thus developing organisms, they have a limited life span. Suitable methods should therefore be adopted to ensure that the product’s evolution is controlled throughout the shipping process. The choice of an export packaging, adapted to the product as well as to the distribution network and the market, is therefore important to export success.

Single Face Kraft (SFK)
Most growers show a lot of keenness when choosing cartons, sleeves or even refrigerated containers. However, little attention is generally given when choosing SFKs yet they are the first line of protection for the flowers. This has resulted in growers losing many stems which should have turned into dollars. This was revealed by a research carried out recently by this periodical.

In Kenya, there is a wide range of SFK’s available to growers and exporters from different suppliers. Though the reason for selecting a specific type of SFK are not always clear. Pack rates and cost efficiency seem to be prevailing motives according to our research. The outcome, however, is not always what would be best for the flowers.

Kenyan roses are ranked among the best in the world and this is usually due to the high quality varieties produced by rose breeders with local branches. One such branch is Kordes Roses East Africa situated in Karen, Nairobi and managed by Mr Bas Smit. This is a branch of W. Kordes Söhne based in Hamburg, Germany, which celebrated its 125th Anniversary two years ago. They have branches located in the cut flower production centres of The Netherlands and Kenya, as well as agents located throughout the world. Kordes’ novelties are tried and grown under local conditions and test marketed in the world’s flower markets.

W. Kordes Söhne is a world renowned company in Northern Germany with a tradition of more than 100 years in the hybridization of new rose varieties and in the production of rose plants. Many of the most famous cut rose and garden rose varieties have been created in the facilities of Kordes. An international team works continually on the development of new varieties and the optimization of the production of young plants.

In order to determine the response of varieties under the different climatic conditions of the rose producing countries of East Africa, a large quantity of both standard and new varieties are cultivated in the Kordes’ green house near Nairobi. Results gained from those local trials enable the `Kordes Rose East Africa’ team to offer competent advice on the propagation and cultivation of Kordes varieties. In a bid to keep in touch with client needs and to expose them to new improved rose varieties, Kordes Roses organizes Open Days at their Karen Testing facility. Participants are taken on a guided tour of the breeding facility by Kordes officials.

The GreenCHAINge consortium, made up of trading companies and research institutions, was satisfied with the results of the first sea transport of roses in 2014. The practical test involved transporting both large and small-flowered roses between the port cities of Mombasa and Antwerp. Conditions in the air-conditioned reefer containers (such as the required low temperature and relative humidity) were controlled remotely.

After the 25-day transport, the roses were subjected to another 8 days of simulated conditions of export to various European destinations (two days of cold storage, two days in transport containers, and four days of retail outlet conditions) and finally a test for keeping quality in the vase. The average vase life for these roses was ten days which was not at all inferior to the roses transported as air freight in which, unlike sea transport, the temperature is often difficult to control.

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