A file picture of roses.
Once common and well-known for his or her fragrance, roses obtainable on the Bangladesh market are now not aromatic.
Commercial rose growers say that the recognition of once-the-most common flower has declined amongst particular person rose lovers because the flower has misplaced its scent.
Scientists say that commercially cultivated rose varieties have misplaced their fragrance as these have been modified genetically through the years for higher seems to be and excessive yields.
Manirul Islam, a banker dwelling at Mirpur, Dhaka, stated that he had lately made a frantic seek for aromatic roses at a number of locations, together with the town’s two large flower markets, Shahbagh and Agargaon, however in useless. His spouse had sought roses with scent as reward from him on their marriage anniversary this time!
‘I couldn’t consider first that roses have been with out fragrance! I searched all doable locations, however did not discover a single aromatic rose in any store of the reputed flower markets,’ he stated with disappointment.
Ripon Miah, proprietor of Bhai Bhai Phulghar at Shahbagh, admitted that he had practically 10 sorts of rose in his assortment, however none gave out fragrance.
The value of a rose ranges from Tk 5 to Tk 50 relying on its look and dimension at retail retailers around the yr.
‘Not solely in my store, you can see no scented rose in some other store of this flower market,’ Ripon stated as if it was a problem.
Bangladesh Agriculture University’s horticulture professor Golam Rabbani stated that roses had misplaced their fragrance within the course of of their modification through the years.
He additional stated that roses, within the course of, had gained a greater survival capability and a bigger dimension, a extra engaging look, an extended vase-life, increased output whereas that they had misplaced their candy smells.
‘To bolster or heighten some specific traits of a flower, scientists have compromised on others. In the case of roses, they’ve compromised on fragrance to get an extended stick, a extra engaging color and really excessive yields,’ the horticulture professor stated.
Roses could be divided in 15 teams based mostly on their origin, he stated, including that the varieties cultivated in Bangladesh are of ‘hybrid tea varieties’ that are principally scentless as a result of they include no risky oil.
Scent, he stated, is lacking solely in modified varieties however the wild selection of rose continues to be aromatic.
‘If wild rose is made to lose scent it will go extinct from the character because the modified selection will lose the regeneration capability,’ he added.
According to Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute’s floriculture division head Farjana Nasrin Khan, greater than 300 varieties of roses, each modified and aromatic, can be found in Bangladesh, with the aromatic ones being cultivated by amateurs solely.
But, she stated, principally Mirandy and Mr Lincoln, each modified, are actually cultivated in Savar, Jashore, Jhenaidah, Manikganj and Gazipur.
She stated that transportation and use of fertiliser in rose cultivation additionally contributed to their loss of scent.
She stated that scented roses have been as soon as cultivated to make use of in fragrance and beauty industries however now most of the roses have been utilized in celebration occasions. ‘So, folks now search for good color and enormous dimension and with a view to meet this demand some HYV roses are additionally imported from overseas,’ she stated.
She additional disclosed that scientists have been now making an attempt to develop blue roses by means of genetic modification.
‘In the previous, roses used to develop primarily in winter however they’re now obtainable around the yr as Bangladesh produces, on common, 2.5 lakh items of roses day by day,’ she famous.
According to scientists, they’ve recognized a gene that ‘switches on’ an important enzyme referred to as RhNUDX1, which acts within the cells of the flower’s petals to generate a chemical referred to as monoterpene geraniol, one of the sweetest-smelling element of rose oil.
Mohammad Ibrahim, a flower grower in Savar, stated {that a} selection of rose referred to as Papa Meilland has scent however its yield was very low in contrast with the favored ones.
‘We should domesticate these varieties that fetch revenue and have good demand in the marketplace,’ he went on to say.
Bangladesh Flower Society president Abdur Rahim stated that plastic flowers, particularly roses, have been at present flooding the Bangladesh market as many individuals and occasion managers choose scentless plastic roses over the aromatic ones.
He stated that plastic roses have been additionally changing into common as pure roses misplaced their fragrance and so they couldn’t be differentiated by the look.
Sector insiders stated that the flower enterprise in Bangladesh had develop into a Tk 1,600 crore exercise, with about 30 lakh folks being straight and not directly concerned within the sector.
Roughly 30 per cent of them from rose, stated Rahim.
Still some varieties of the flower are imported from China, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia to fulfill the native demand, they stated.
Scientists consider that rose cultivation began in China after which travelled to the Middle East for producing fragrance.
Commercial cultivation of roses began in Jhikargachha upazila of Jashore in mid-80s. Later, such farming unfold to different components of Jashore, Savar, Chuandanga, Mymensingh and Gazipur.
All kinds of flowers, together with tuberose, gladiolus rose, marigold, lotus, gerbera, hyacinth, chrysanthemum, lily, are actually commercially cultivated in Bangladesh.
Jashore accounts for some 70 per cent of Bangladesh’s flower manufacturing whereas Savar provides the best share of roses, in response to flower merchants.
https://www.newagebd.web/article/171848/roses-robbed-of-fragrance
