Vol. 7, Issue 9, Part H (2025)

Floriculture has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments of horticulture in India, contributing significantly to rural livelihoods, women’s empowerment, and income diversification. Odisha, endowed with diverse agro-climatic conditions, is increasingly adopting commercial floriculture; however, its production still falls short of local demand. This review synthesizes the current status, challenges, and opportunities of floriculture in Odisha based on secondary data and government reports. The analysis highlights that loose flowers such as marigold (50,081.56 MT, 5,522 ha) and tuberose (1,278.21 MT, 466 ha) dominate cultivation, while cut flowers like rose, gladiolus, and gerbera are concentrated in specific districts including Cuttack, Puri, Jharsuguda, and Kandhamal. Despite steady expansion, Odisha’s floriculture sector faces constraints in infrastructure, cold storage, market linkages, and adoption of modern technologies, resulting in heavy dependence on imports from West Bengal and Karnataka. Institutional initiatives such as Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), support under MIDH and RKVY, and collaborations with CSIR-NBRI reflect growing recognition of floriculture as a viable enterprise. The paper concludes that scaling up protected cultivation, improving post-harvest handling, strengthening cooperative marketing, and promoting value addition are essential for unlocking Odisha’s floriculture potential. By leveraging its agro-climatic diversity and institutional support, the state can transform floriculture into a competitive and sustainable component of its horticulture economy.