Developing Water Quality and Storage Standards for Cut Rosa Stems and Postharvest Handling Protocols for Specialty Cut Flowers


Book Description

Cut 'Freedom', 'Charlotte' and 'Classy' rose stems were subjected to various pH and EC solutions created by adding NaCl, Na2SO4, or CaCl2 to various base solutions: Floralife Professional; distilled water; or solutions of HCl, H2SO4, NaCl, Na2SO4, or NaOH. It was determined that the ideal laboratory solution has a low pH, 3.5 to 4.0, and an EC of 1.0 dS" 1. The best salt to add is Na2SO4, but all tested salts provided acceptable results. The average vase life of cut Rosa stems placed in a 1.0 dS" 1 vase solution was 13.9 d and the minimum, 5 d, was recorded for a 'Freedom' rose in either distilled water or a H2SO4 solution. Low pH solutions partially counteracted the negative effects of a high EC, but did not result in the longest vase life for the study. When vase life is plotted against EC, distilled water has a slope of -1.71, while HCl and H2SO4 have slopes of -0.84 and -0.21, respectively. The flatter slope of the acidic solutions indicates that the vase life of stems placed in a low pH solution did not decrease as EC increased as drastically as stems placed in water of a higher pH. In preliminary temperature studies, when using a standard mercury thermometer, 11, 13, or 14 h were required for a quarter, half, or full size box, respectively, to warm up from 3 to 23.8 & deg;C and twice as long for the same boxes to cool to 3 & deg;C. However, during a fluctuating temperature study using temperature data loggers, a half size box only required 4 h to warm up and 8.5 to 9 h to cool down. In a variable temperature study, the longest vase life, 15.3 d, was obtained when 'Freedom' stems remained in a 1 & deg;C cooler for 48 h, while the shortest vase life, 11.5 d, occurred when stems remained in a 20 & deg;C environment for 48 h. In a constant storage study, the longest vase life, 11.7 d, was obtained when 'Freedom' stems were placed in a 1 & deg;C cooler for 12 h. Vase life decreased linearly with both time and temperature to 6.4 d at 30 & deg;C.




Prolonging Vase Life of Cut Rose


Book Description

Current research project was conducted to study the impact Silver thiosulfat (STS) and sucrose on the vase life of rose cut flower CV. Cardinal, under room conditions with normal day light and natural ventilation. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD)with four replications.










Agrindex


Book Description




Floriculture and Ornamental Plants


Book Description

The volume on oilseed crops is developed as a part of a series on “Handbook of Agrobiodiversity: Conservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources”. The handbook would function as a ready reference book for availability of PGR globally, along with specific source, wherefrom they can be procured, and used breeding programs, particularly to overcome various crop production constraints and to improve productivity and quality. The volume on floriculture and ornamental plants will be the source of basic information on origin and evolution and global dispersal of cultivated species of ornamentals. Presently, floriculture has established its credibility in improving income through increased productivity, generating employment and in enhancing exports. All research and developmental activities on ornamental crops are essentially multi-disciplinary in nature recognizing local issues as well as country issue. Floriculture is developing as an area of high technology based frontier interdisciplinary area on scientific excellence. Floriculture has progressed both scientifically and commercially due to concentrated efforts made on multidisciplinary research. It is developing as an area of high technology based frontier interdisciplinary area on scientific excellence. The volume will contain all information about different ornamentals. This shall be put together to develop a complete documentation of the results of the research and demonstrations conducted by different scientists. The volume will provide an illustrated horto-taxonomical account of important ornamental species and cultivars, germplasm status and their usages, propagation, nursery management, techno-economics, conventional breeding, induced mutagenesis, new varieties, cytogenetics, tissue culture, characterization of varieties, dehydration of flowers etc. This volume will give a coherent and concise account on recent developments. It will deal with all the important and relevant aspects of floriculture. The publication of this volume is planned to reveal multifarious activities done on different aspects of floriculture so that innovations made so far can be used judiciously for this sector. This book shall provide authoritative review account of many aspects of current interest and progress in the field of floriculture. The topics included in the book are interdisciplinary and cater not only classical floriculture but also relevant modern aspects. The book will provide valuable data on different aspects and will be widely accepted by by professional scientists, researchers, teachers, students, floriculturists, technocrats and planners. The volume will be an invaluable asset to floriculture scientists.







Effect of 8-HQC on the Shelf Life of Lily Cut Flowers


Book Description

Over the past few years, the use of cut flowers has increased, and some of these cut flowers (Lily, Rose etc) are among the most used for decorative purpose. With this boom in popularity has also come a rise in the need for commercial use, and very little academic literature exists on how to best utilize the preservative solutions (here 8-hqc) to prolong cut flowers vase life keeping their full quality. Traditional preservative methods are no longer adequate, as modern methods in commercial producers have completely radicalized the use of these preservatives. This book, therefore provides a new metric of success for marketing cut flowers keeping their quality, supplemental to the more traditional cost analysis that most commercial producers currently use. Four separate distinctly different concentrations of preservative chemicals (8-hqc) are analyzed among others. The analysis should help shed some light on this new and exciting method, and should specially useful to research centers, commercial producers, wholesalers, retailers, consumers or any else who may be considering utilizing preservatives to prolong shelf life of cut flowers.




Postharvest Biotechnology of Flowers and Ornamental Plants


Book Description

The floricultural industry has been undergoing an unprecedented revolu tion in terms of the type of commodity produced and the production and marketing technology in both developed and developing countries. As a result of this revolution, as we know today, there is a flower for every purpose and for every person in the world, as is evident from the slogan of the Society for American Florists: "say it with flowers". In re cent years, the Latin American and European countries have become sizeable competitors for the North American fresh flower markets and the trend continues growing. Like any other crop production, floricultural production can be divided into three basic factors: (1) production costs (2) quality (3) transportation costs. All these must be optimum for this area or industry to be safe from competition. With increasing consumer awareness and the current recession, the pressure from the artificial floral products in dustry and also of neighbouring countries on the American fresh flower industry, and continued competition even amongst the growers, whole salers and retailers, quality in floricultural industry is becoming increas ingly important to all those concerned with handling these products. The visual quality aspects of the product are the sole determiner of consumer acceptability in this industry and, unlike fruits and vegetables, flowers cannot be marketed by just discarding the damaged portion.