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Dear Orchid friends,
Something interest that was forwarded to
me.
Braz from Nepal
Plants alive with the sound of music The orchid plantation area is dotted with sound boxes attached to a hi-fi music system of a 1,000 watts. Every morning (6:00 am to 9:00 am) and evening (3:00 pm to 5:00 pm), the sound system plays devotional songs, ghazals, religious chants and instrumental music for the orchids. "Orchids, like other plants, like music. Music is essential to their growth. The vibration in it helps in the growth of buds," says Dr K N Bhagawati, former head of plant pathology at Assam Agricultural University. Bhagawati has been associated with ICL for 12 years now. Music was introduced in the orchidarium in 1997. Research indicates that
plants thrive if soothing music is played in the background. However, they
shrivel and die if exposed to loud music. Almost 30 years ago, a woman teaching at Colorado University conducted experiments on plants and concluded that they thrive on classical music- particularly the sitar. Recently, a Japanese company created a gadget, 'Plantone,' that gauges the electrical activity in plants. It registers a plant's response to music. 'Flora Exotica' is the first floriculture unit, in the northeast, established for the cultivation and propagation of the finest and most suitable varieties of orchids, especially hybrid orchids. It has 1,00,000 individual orchid plants. The market value of a mature flowering plant ranges from Rs 1,000-1,500. The climatic conditions in the north east are ideal for the cultivation of orchids. Exotic species bloom in profusion in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. Out of the 1,150 species of orchids found in India, more than 700 grow in the north-east. The North Cachar Hills of Assam are home to 400 species of orchids. Taking advantage of the agro-climatic condition of the otherwise trouble-torn region, ICL launched this unique project in 1991. Today, it has 1,600 plants of 23 different varieties of indigenous orchids, which include 'Dendrobium Genting Red,' 'Dendrobium Sonia,' 'Dendrobium White' and 'Aranthera Anne Black.' 'Flora Exotica' packs the orchids in specially designed boxes and sends them to Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, where they are in great demand. "There is a great demand for orchids in the international market too. The orchid business can help improve the unemployment problem in the north-east," says Navajyoti Dolakasharia, an agriculture science graduate, working in the orchidarium. Rakesh Himatsingka, Chairman and Managing Director of ICL, says, "The north-east, with its fertile soil and suitable climate, can contribute immensely to floricultural production in the country.
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