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Phalaenopsis is one of the most important ornamental crops and is frequently transported between continents. In this study, the effects of the duration and temperature of simulated dark shipping (SDS) and the temperature difference between cultivation greenhouses and shipping containers on the carbohydrate status and post-shipping performance were investigated. With a prolonged SDS from 0 to 40 days at 20 °C, the percentage of the vegetative Phalaenopsis Sogo Yukidian ‘V3’ plants with yellowed leaves increased from 0% to 50%, and the total carbohydrate contents in the shoot and roots gradually decreased over time. Furthermore, roots had greater reductions in glucose and fructose concentrations than the shoot after 40 days of SDS. After 7 days of SDS, the youngest bud and the nearly open bud on blooming plants of Phalaenopsis amabilis were found to be the most negatively affected among flowers and buds of all stages. These buds had lower soluble sugar concentrations and flower longevities compared with those of unshipped plants. The results of a temperature experiment showed that yellowing of the leaves and chilling injury (CI) occurred in Phalaenopsis Sogo Yukidian ‘V3’ after 21 days of SDS at 25 and 15 °C, respectively, regardless of pre-shipping temperature acclimation. However, 10 days of acclimation at 25/20 °C (day/night) before SDS reduced CI and reduced the time to inflorescence emergence. Higher accumulations of sucrose in the shoot and glucose and fructose in roots were found after 21 days of SDS at 15 °C compared with those at 25 and 20 °C. In conclusion, the carbohydrate status of Phalaenopsis was positively related to the post-performance quality. A reduction in the commercial quality after SDS may be attributed to a decline in carbohydrates. The optimal temperature for long-term dark shipping is 20 °C, and we recommend providing 10 days of lower-temperature acclimation (25/20 °C) before shipping to enhance the chilling tolerance and to promote early spiking of Phalaenopsis plants.

Phalaenopsis plants are routinely shipped long distances in total darkness. To determine how these long dark periods affect photosynthetic status in Phalaenopsis Sogo Yukidian ‘V3’, changes of net CO₂ uptake, photosystem II (PS II) efficiency, and abscisic acid (ABA) concentration after a long-term simulated dark shipping were investigated. Net CO₂ uptake rate, malate concentration, and titratable acidity in potted Phalaenopsis Sogo Yukidian ‘V3’ decreased after a 21-day simulated dark shipping at 20 °C, but recovered gradually with time after shipping. It took 6 to 9 days to recover to a normal photosynthetic status after shipping. The value of Fv/Fm was little affected by shipping. Therefore, net CO₂ uptake rate would be a better indicator for estimating the recovery time after shipping. After shipping, fresh weight loss, leaf ABA concentration, and number of yellowed leaves of bare-root plants were higher than those of potted plants, and increased with longer durations (7, 14, and 21 days) of the simulated dark period. The spiking (the emergence of flowering stems) date was delayed when plants were stored in a bare-root condition. The concentration of ABA in leaves rose in the first 3 days after simulated shipping and then decreased within the next 3 to 8 days. Plants that received photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) at 399 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ after shipping had lower PS II efficiency and reduced net CO₂ uptake rate than those given less PPF levels. We recommend a post-shipping acclimation for 6 to 9 days with gradual light increase (34–72–140–200 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ PPF) or maintaining a light level of 140 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ PPF for Phalaenopsis to achieve a better photosynthetic status after prolonged dark storage.

Phalaenopsis flowers are prone to wilting under ethylene (C₂H₄) stress. 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) can protect Phalaenopsis flowers against ethylene injury. In this study, we determined the residual effect of 1-MCP and how it is affected by temperature. The efficacy of multiple applications of 1-MCP was also investigated. The residual effect of 1-MCP was determined by pretreating blooming Phalaenopsis amabilis plants with 0.8 μL·L⁻¹ 1-MCP for 8 hours on Day 0 followed by 2 μL·L⁻¹ ethylene fumigation for 12 hours on designated days. Without 1-MCP pretreatment, flowers began to wilt within 2 days after exposure to ethylene. Duration of the residual protection of 1-MCP on P. amabilis was ≈6 to 8 days during summer in Taiwan. Lower temperatures after 1-MCP application prolonged protection times. The full protection times under day/night temperatures of 25/20, 20/15, and 15/13 °C were 4 to 8, 10 to 13, and 13 to 17 days, respectively. Furthermore, multiple applications of 1-MCP extended the duration of 1-MCP protection against ethylene. Three applications increased the residual protection of P. amabilis by 1-MCP to at least 24 days.

Carbohydrate concentrations are important indicators of the internal quality of Phalaenopsis. In this study, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was used for quantitative analyses of fructose, glucose, sucrose, and starch in Phalaenopsis plants. Both modified partial least-squares regression (MPLSR) and stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR) methods were used for spectral analysis of 302 Phalaenopsis samples in the full visible NIR wavelength range (400–2498 nm). Calibration models built by MPLSR were better than those built by SMLR. For fructose, the smoothed first derivative MPLSR model provided the best results, with a correlation coefficient of calibration (R_c) of 0.96, standard error of calibration (SEC) of 0.22% dry weight (DW), standard error of validation (SEV) of 0.28% DW, and bias of -0.01% DW. For glucose, the MPLSR model based on the smoothed first derivative spectra was the best (R_c = 0.96; SEC = 0.26% DW; SEV = 0.32% DW; and bias = 0.01% DW). The best MPLSR model of sucrose was developed using the smoothed first derivative spectra (R_c = 0.96; SEC = 0.24% DW; SEV = 0.31% DW; bias = -0.03% DW). Regarding starch, the smoothed first derivative MPLSR model showed the best effects (R_c = 0.91; SEC = 0.47% DW; SEV = 0.56% DW; bias = -0.02% DW). Both the MPLSR and SMLR models showed satisfactory predictability, indicating that NIR has the potential to be adopted as an effective method of rapid and accurate inspection of the carbohydrate concentrations of Phalaenopsis plants. This technique could contribute substantially to quality management of Phalaenopsis.