( In et al., 2006 ; Pun and Ichimura, 2003 ). Flower senescence is accompanied by a drop in water uptake, petal wilting, flower abscission, and altogether lowered ornamental quality. Sugars in vase solutions extend the vase life of many cut flowers
Abstract
Out of the 25 microorganisms commonly occuring in carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L. ‘Improved White Sim’) vase solutions, 3 greatly reduced carnation vase life when added individually to vase solutions. Some of these microorganisms also reduced the vase life of roses (Rose hybrida ‘Cara Mia’), chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum × morifloium Ramat. ‘May Shoesmith’) and other cultivars of carnation (‘Improved Red Sim’ and ‘Improved Pink Sim’). The microorganisms that reduced flower vase life were tentatively identified as a yeast, a fluorescent pseudomonad and a nonfluorescent pseudomonad. A 10-fold reduction in the initial inoculum level affected neither the final microbial concentrations nor the vase life of the test flowers. The effects of the different microbes were not correlated with their effects on solution pH.
per stem from buds throughout vase life for Lisianthus cut flowers in different treatments of vase solution. Except for ‘Mariachi Blue’ and ‘Mariachi Green’ (in Expt. 1), the remaining cultivars showed a significant difference in number of flowers per
Individual 'Stargazer' flowers lasted about 4.5 to 5 days and weighed ≈14 g. Addition of 2% sugar into the vase solution neither affected the longevity nor the size of the flowers but significantly enhanced anthocyanin content and, thus, the intensity of petal color. Defoliation of Oriental lilies, the common practice of retail florists, did not affect the opening, longevity, and size of the open flowers, but did result in lighter-color petals when placed in a solution without sugar. Addition of sugar to the vase solution counteracted the adverse effects of defoliation on petal color. Sugar in the vase solution did not overcome the increased bud blasting and the reduced longevity and size of flowers induced by cold storage. However, it enabled more flowers to open fully, which, without sugar, remained only partially open. Excised bud experiments revealed that bud size of 6.1 cm and 7.0 cm were critical for opening of non-cold-stored and cold-stored buds, respectively. Unlike other cut flower species in which flowers for long-term storage or long-distance transport are harvested at a tighter-bud stage than those intended for the local market, in 'Stargazer', harvesting of stems where the smallest bud is >7.0 cm would be critical in reducing cold-storage-induced bud blasting.
morphological characteristics of cut rose flowers on day 16. Bar = 6 cm. Number of bacteria in the vase solution. The number of bacteria in each vase solution differed among the treatments ( Fig. 6 ). The number of bacteria in the vase solution was the
containing 300 mL of vase solution. Stem ends of the flowers pulsed with sucrose solution were rinsed with tap water to remove excessive sugar attached with the stems to reduce microbial contamination, before placing in jars. Stems were kept in a vase life
interrupted by microorganism proliferation in the vase solution ( Bleeksma and van Doorn, 2003 ), which could be effectively prevented by some germicides (e.g., 8-HQ) ( Mahdi Jowkar, 2006 ). The carbohydrate depletion in petals can be simply solved by
% relative humidity and 12 μmol·m −2 ·s −1 light intensity (fluorescent lamps) under a daily light period of 12 h. Factors included 1-MCP (EthylBloc; Agrofresh, Inc., Spring House, PA), vase solution additive, and sampling times except for the vase life
, electrolyte leakage, and vase life longevity. We held racemes in vase solutions with or without ethephon [(2, chloroethyl) phosphonic acid, or CEPA] to investigate the ability of 1-MCP to counteract the influence of an exogenous ethylene source (ethylene
accelerated by increased stomatal opening, transpiration will exceed uptake and water deficiency will occur. Thus, solutes are frequently added to vase solutions such as 8-hydroxyquinoline citrate (8-HQC), which can increase water uptake ( van Doorn, 1997