Narcissus and Daffodil

Economics of bulb production 133
Table 5.2 Variable costs in growing Narcissus (see Table 5.1). All calculations are based
on 1 ha of crop at 1999 values
1 Bulbs planted at 15 t/ha @ £400/tonne
2 Hot-water treatment for 15 t bulbs @ £30.00/tonne + £50.00/tonne
thiabendazole fungicide for control of basal rot
3 Fertilisers: year 1
100 kg nitrogen @ £0.40/kg 40.00
100 kg phosphate @ £0.43/kg 32.00
200 kg potash @ £0.22/kg 44.00
116.00
Fertilisers: year 2
50 kg nitrogen @ £0.40/kg 20.00
4 Sprays: year 1
Iprodione fungicide (two sprays) 6 litres @ £16.40/litre 98.40
Mancozeb fungicide 6 kg @ £3.30/kg 19.80
Chlorothalonil fungicide 3 litres @ £5.50/litre 16.50
Paraquat + diquat herbicide 8.5 litres @ £5.60/litre 47.60
Chlorpropham + linuron herbicide 11.2 litres @ £8.80/litre 98.56
Glyphosate herbicide 5 litres @ £3.52/litre 17.60
Cyanazine herbicide 5.2 litres @ £14.60/litre 75.92
374.38
Sprays: year 2
Paraquat + diquat herbicide 8.5 litres @ £5.60/litre 47.60
Chlorpropham + linuron herbicide 11.2 litres @ £8.80/litre 98.56
Cyanazine herbicide 5.2 litres @ £14.60/litre 75.92
Iprodione fungicide (two sprays) 6 litres @ £16.40/litre 98.40
Chlorothalonil fungicide 3 litres @ £5.50/litre 16.50
Mancozeb fungicide 6 kg @ £3.30/kg 19.80
356.78
5 Post-lifting spray of thiabendazole fungicide,
30 t bulbs @ £21/tonne, for control of basal rot
6 Bulb drying in store will be required at a
fuel cost of approximately £10/tonne
system should be considered only if rigorous disease control is necessary. To achieve
gross margins from two, one-year-down crops in excess of the gross margin for a
two-year-down system (with a 150% bulb weight increase), annual bulb weight
increases of between 70 and 100% have to be obtained from a bulb planting rate of
25 t/ha (ADAS, 1984, 1985b, 1987a,b). This can be achieved commercially, but,
given the need for consistently high yields, it would be difficult to do so. Further,
in the one-year-down system all bulbs are lifted and re-planted each year, and the
volume of bulbs handled each year is nearly doubled, creating logistical problems
for most businesses. The use of the two-year-down growing system, therefore,
became firmly established in the UK.
ACTUAL GROSS MARGINS
The figures given above represent ‘typical’ gross margins. Examples of actual gross
margins recorded by two bulb growers in Lincolnshire, UK, are given in Table 5.3.