Ascorbic acid reduces chilling injury in anthurium cut flowers during cold storage by increasing salicylic acid biosynthesis

Abstract

Chilling injury (CI) and vase-life reduction are the dominant issues of anthurium cut flowers storage under cold conditions. In the present study, the influence of post-harvest treatments of ascorbic acid (AsA) at concentrations of 0, 1, 2 and 4 mM by two application methods included pulse and spraying on maintainability of anthurium cut flowers (cv. ‘Fire Glow’) was evaluated under temperature of 4 °C during 0, 7, 14 and 21 d of storage. Results demonstrated that increasing storage duration led to more CI and lower flowers quality. Application of AsA treatments effectively reduced CI and extended vase-life of anthurium cut flowers during cold storage. Pulse treatment was more effective than spraying method on maintainability of flowers, so that the lowest CI and highest vase-life was observed in pulse-treated flowers at 2 mM. Also, the lowest electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde content, hydrogen peroxide content and polyphenol oxidase, lipoxygenase and phospholipase D enzymes activity and the highest total phenol content, radical scavenging activity and catalase, superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase enzymes activity were recorded in flowers treated with this treatment. Obtained results indicated that AsA-treated flowers showed the higher endogenous contents of AsA and salicylic acid (SA) than the control and AsA and SA content of pulse-treated flowers was higher than those of sprayed flowers. AsA treatments probably increased the endogenous content of AsA and biosynthesis rate of SA which led to enhanced radical scavenging activity and reduced CI in treated flowers during cold storage. In conclusion, AsA pulse-treatment at 2 mM could be introduced as superior treatment and using that is recommendable as suitable method to enhance post-harvest chilling tolerance of anthurium cut flowers during cold storage under 4 °C.