Sucrose enhances the postharvest quality of cut flowers of Eustoma grandiflorum (Raf.) Shinn.
Cho, M.C., Celikel, F. and Dodge, L.
ISHS Acta Horticulturae 543: 305-315.
2001
บทคัดย่อ
The effect of carbohydrate as a pulse treatment or in the vase solution on the postharvest quality and longevity of lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum cv. Heidi Pink) cut flowers was evaluated. The role of ethylene in the life of these flowers was also examined by determining the effect of STS [silver thiosulfate] and 1-MCP [1-methylcyclopropene] pretreatments and ethylene exposure on the life of the flowers. When lisianthus were pulsed with 6% sucrose for 24 or 48 h and then placed in deionized (DI) water, flower opening was considerably increased, compared with those placed in DI alone. The pulse pretreatments had no effect on longevity of the first opening bud, but greatly increased (up to 3-fold) the life of the next 2 buds. The number of flowers opening per inflorescence and the rigidity of the pedicels increased significantly between 0 and 1.5% sucrose but did not increase further with increasing sugar concentrations. In contrast, the life of the first opened bud continued to increase with the sugar content of the vase solution, and was more than double that of control flowers in solutions containing 6% sugar. Any of the continuous or pulse treatments with sugars increased the number of flowers that opened on inflorescences. However, after 18 days in the vase, significant numbers of open flowers remained only for those treatments that included at least 3% sugar in the vase solution. Although pulse treatments improved flower opening and diameter of the first opened flower, the best postharvest performance was obtained from continuous treatment with vase solutions containing 3 or 6% sugar. Although the ethylene action inhibitors, STS (4 mM, for 1 h) or 1-MCP (500 nl/litre, for 6 h), did not significantly affect the life of lisianthus flowers placed in air in the vase life room, these treatments did significantly extend (>50%) the life of the flowers that had been exposed to 1 micro litre ethylene/litre for 2 days at the start of their vase life evaluation.