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A broad source of Gerbera × hybrida Hort. germplasm was evaluated for vase life. Senescence mode, i.e., bending or folding of stems or wilting of ligulae was also recorded for flowers evaluated. Intensive selection was practiced to improve vase life. About 10% of the plants from a sample population were selected for having flowers with high vase life. Progeny means for vase life resulting from a topcross between these plants and `Appleblossom' were used to select five plants (about 1.5% of the sample population) whose flowers had high vase life. A diallel cross using these five plants as parents resulted in a progeny population with an increase in mean vase life of 3.4 days compared to mean vase life for the initial sample population. Increases in vase life means for days to bending, folding, and wilting were 0.3, 3.5, and 1.2 days, respectively. Plants with flowers which senesced due to wilting had the longest mean vase life before and after breeding. Changes in proportion of senescence modes were observed; bending decreased, folding and wilting increased. Frequencies of bending, folding, and wilting were compared to vase life means for 10 progenies. Proportion of bending generally decreased as vase life increased.
Abstract
Detached shoots of double-flowered peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] selections Fla. 6-1 and Fla. 0-5 were successfully opened in floral solutions containing 1 to 10% sucrose in deionized water. Addition of 8-hydroxyquinoline citrate (8-HQC), gibberellic acid (GA3), or 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) to solutions did not extend vase life. Solution uptake rate decreased over the 8-day life of the shoots and was influenced by solution molarity. Xylem plugging by pectic-type materials increased with time in solution. Addition of 1% ethanol to the floral solution hastened time of first opening, decreased the extent of xylem plugging, and extended vase life. Ethanol at 2% extended vase life and increased solution uptake rate over solutions containing sucrose alone.
Intensive selection to improve vase life was performed on a sample population of Gerber ×hybrida Hort. from a broad source of germplasm. Progeny of a 5 × 5 diallel cross yielded estimates of narrow sense heritability (h2 = 0.28) and broad sense heritability (H2 = 0.28) for vase life based on a mean of 1.96 measurements per plant. Additive gene action is postulated to control this character since the difference between total genotypic variance and additive genetic variance components was small. Repeatability (r = 0.57) based on a single measurement per plant was moderately high. Heritability estimates were also determined based on 1, 2, 3, 5, and ∞ measurements per plant. Heritability ranged from 22% to 39%.
Abstract
Immersing stems of carnation flowers (Dianthus caryophyllus L. cv. White Sim) in solutions containing a silver thiosulfate complex prepared by combining silver nitrate with sodium thiosulfate (molar ratio 1:4) doubled their vase life (from 5 to more than 10 days). The effect could be achieved by treating stems with solutions containing as little as 1.0 mM Ag with a pulse as short as 10 minutes. Silver uptake estimations indicated that a minimum of 0.5 μmol Ag was required per stem for maximum vase life and that more than 5 μmol Ag per stem was toxic.
Abstract
Senescence of sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus L.) flowers was associated with a climacteric rise in ethylene (C2H4) production. Pretreatment for 8 min with 4 mM silver thiosulfate (STS) doubled the vase life of the flowers and enhanced opening of buds on the spike. An overnight pulse at 20°C with 4% sucrose also promoted bud opening. A combined STS and sucrose treatment improved flower quality by promoting bud opening of spikes cut with tight florets, and by delaying floret senescence and abscission in both fresh and stored flowers. Aminooxyacetic acid (AOA) was less effective than STS in extending the vase life of sweet peas.
Two cultivars of tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L.) were used to check the effect of trehalose-feeding on longevity of vase life. `Oxford' plants were grown from bulbs, and trehalose-fed cut flowers were compared with the intact plants grown in pots. `Pink Diamond' flowers were obtained commercially as cut flowers from the market, and trehalose-feeding was examined by using only flower parts. In both cultivars of plants, it was confirmed that trehalose-feeding enhanced longevity of the vase life significantly at room temperature. Additionally, mechanisms of prolonging the vase life with trehalose-fed flowers were studied by comparing the water status in the zone of elongation of tulip tepals when their growth rates were modified with different treatments. In the elongating region of tulip tepals, cell elongation rates were linearly correlated to sizes of the growth-induced water potential regardless of treatments. It was found that trehalose-feeding reduced the hydraulic conductance, resulting in a decrease in cell elongation rates. Also, trehalose helped to maintain turgor of tepal cells for longer periods. Furthermore, trehalose enhanced pigmentation in tepals, and thus, trehalose is believed to have had a role in altering the metabolism in elongating cells and in reducing hydraulic conductivity in membranes.
Placing a daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. `Carlton') flower in a vase with a rose (Rosa hybrida L. Sonia) flower reduced water uptake by the rose and resulted in precocious wilting of its leaves and flower and in pedicel bending. These symptoms were also observed when mucilage from daffodil stems was placed in the vase water. The effects of the mucilage and the daffodil stem were overcome by adding 8-hydroxyquinoline (HQC) to the vase solution. HQC inhibits ethylene production and is an antimicrobial compound. Aminoethyoxyvinylglycine (AVG) or silver thiosulfate (STS), inhibitors of ethylene synthesis and action, respectively, did not alleviate the mucilage effects, but sodium hypochlorite, an antimicrobial compound, did. Bacterial counts in the basal 5-cm segment of rose stems increased after placing mucilage or a daffodil stem in the vase water, and counts were reduced by adding HQC or sodium hypochlorite. One daffodil stem also reduced the vase life of tulips (Tulipa gesneriana L. `Frappant' and `Apeldoorn'), which showed precocious leaf yellowing. This was not alleviated by HQC and was also found when mucilage was placed on the leaf surface. Placing mucilage on the leaf produced no effect in roses. Separating the mucilage indicated that the effect in roses is mainly due to the sugar and polysaccharide fraction and the effect in tulips is due to a fraction containing several alkaloids. The results indicate that the decreased vase life of rose flowers, after one daffodil is placed in their vase water, is due to daffodil mucilage, which, in the rose cultivar tested, blocks water uptake, mainly as a result of increased bacterial growth. In the tulip cultivars tested, the negative effect on vase life is primarily due to mucilage toxicity.
Abstract
Vase life and floral characteristics were studied for Rosa hybrida (cvs. Forever Yours, Briarcliff Supreme, Red Garnette, and Rose Elf) flowers grown in atmospheres containing 300 ± 200, 1000 ± 300, and 2000 ± 500 ppm CO2 for at least half of the daylight hours. Only ‘Red Garnette’ flowers grown in CO2-supplemented air had significantly longer vase life (one-half day) than those produced in normal atmospheres.
Abstract
Short pretreatments of stems of anthurium flowers (Anthurium andraeanum André) with silver nitrate solutions increased vase life by 40 to 60% after a simulated shipping. Significant improvement was obtained with a single 10-minute treatment with 1 mm silver nitrate. Maximum postharvest life was obtained with flowers treated with silver nitrate within 12 hours of harvest. Silver nitrate treatment was effective on flowers ranging from half to full maturity. No measurable silver was translocated to the spathe or spadix. Silver thiosulfate complex was not as effective as silver nitrate. For response to silver treatment following simulated shipping of 3 days, 2 cm of stem had to be removed before placing in a vase solution. Continuous maintenance of the flower before and after simulated shipping in a commercial preservative was not significantly better than a single pulse with silver nitrate or a combination of silver nitrate pulse and commercial preservative.
Abstract
Immersing the cut stem of flowers for 24-72 hours in a solution containing thiabendazole and sucrose facilitated opening, improved quality, and prolonged vase life of bud cut carnations, mini-carnations and chrysanthemum harvested at the bud stage, and of gladiolus, mini-gladiolus, snapdragons and gypsophila harvested considerably earlier than recommended commercially. This treatment was shown to be more effective than 8-hydroxy-quinoline, in all cases, and more effective than silver nitrate treatment in the case of gypsophila. The flowers treated with thiabendazole were larger and heavier, and retained their decorative value for a longer time. Adding 8-hydroxyquinoline to thiabendazole solutions to form the “TOG” formula improved the effectiveness of the treatment for commercial use and allowed re-usage of the solution several times.