This is despite the fact that the State has a comparatively shorter span of winter season, which enhances the production qualitatively, than other states that have dominated the major events in the country till recently.

``And why not, our Paradise, Gladiators, Double Delights, Banjarans, Folk Lores, Super Stars and all the known varieties are second to none,'' claims president of the Indian Nurserymen Association Jhaverilal Verma.

Interestingly, Verma and B M Vaghela, INA secretary, are the first in Gujarat to have been nominated as the top office-holders of the national body this year.

Among the elaborate plans to promote floriculture in the State, includes participation at the three-day All-India Rose Show, scheduled to be held next month at New Delhi, Vaghela said.

Though, Vadodara-based nurseries have bagged prizes in the last couple of years, the State's performance is expected to improve further this year. The roses from Vadodara, however, may not be distinguished for their size but their varieties and qualitative grooming are expected to bring unprecedented laurels this time, they predicted, adding that the selected entries in the show include over 150 nurseries from all over the State.

According to them, though floriculture in Gujarat had progressed tremendously during the past couple of years, thus yielding larger and better varieties of all the four types of roses like polyntha, miniature, floribanda, hybrid-T and creepers, it was ignored till the mid-90s.

The duo, who have also been recently nominated to a couple of other national bodies for floriculture and horticulture, say that they would organise conventions for the farmers and take various fruit and flower varieties to other shows to be held during the next three months at New Delhi.

Meanwhile, in a separate talk with the Express Newsline, Director, State Horticulture, Navin Shah, claimed that substantial scientific developments were being undertaken by private nurserymen in the State. The State government has decided to launch a special scheme exclusively for the promotion of floriculturists soon, following which the production of the flowers and fruits would not only increase quantitatively, but also qualitatively, he added.