Abstract
Abstract Standard Carnation flowers (Dianthus caryophyllus cv. Dover) were harvested at the paint brush stage in the early morning, pre-cooled at 4° C for 6-h then moved under dry conditions to the laboratory. Flowers were weighted and treated for 24-h with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) at 0, 5 or 10 ppm in plastic buckets. After pulsing treatments, cut flowers were transferred to 500 mL glass jars containing 300 mL of preservation solution treatments including, individually, humic acid at 200, 400 or 600 ppm and Aloe vera gel at 2.5%, 5.0% or 7.5% (w/v) till the end of the experiment (when flower color began to fade, petals began to roll). Distilled water was used for the control and to prepare the tested solutions. 2% sucrose was added to all treatments including the control. Addition of all preservatives to vase solutions significantly increased all the studied characteristics of cut flowers compared to control (distilled water, least values). Nanosilver treatments have the potential to be used as preservative solutions for improving postharvest vase life and quality of carnation flowers. An increment in vase life, relative fresh weight, vase solution uptake, flower diameter as well as total chlorophylls in leaves, total carbohydrates and total phenols in leaves and petals was observed, in addition to a decrease in bacterial counts in vase solution. Best results were obtained using 5 ppm AgNPs + 5.0% Aloe vera gel followed by 5 ppm AgNPs +7.5% Aloe vera gel solutions. Aloe vera gel, especially 5.0% level, showed better results than humic acid when used alone or combined with AgNPs. Nanosilver at 5 ppm recorded better results than 10 ppm when used as a single treatment.
Highlights
Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) belongs to family Caryophyllaceae and it has an important commercial value and widely cultivated for its showy, variously colored and fragrant flowers as cut flowers for ornamental purposes or in gardens
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of silver nanoparticles, humic acid and Aloe vera gel in extending the vase-life of carnation flowers
Cut flowers of each treatment were transferred to 500 mL glass jars containing 300 mL of preservation solution treatments including, individually, humic acid (Humate UAD, obtained from Egyptian Group for Development Giza, Egyp) at 200, 400 or 600 ppm and Aloe vera gel at 2.5%, 5.0% or 7.5% (w v-1) till the end of the experiment
Summary
Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) belongs to family Caryophyllaceae and it has an important commercial value and widely cultivated for its showy, variously colored and fragrant flowers as cut flowers for ornamental purposes or in gardens. Carnation is classified as standard or spray type. The standard type has only one flower per stem, and the spray type has multiple flowers per stem (Boxriker et al, 2018). Carnation is very sensitive to ethylene and it is synthesized in high portions after the full flower opening (Darqui et al, 2017). Vase life of carnation flowers is short, almost seven days without using floral preservative solution (Aalifar et al, 2020). Hormonal control of ethylene significantly prolongs carnation vase life and delays senescence. Prolonged vase life is an important parameter for valuing perishable cut flower quality. It is crucial to use natural and effective preservative compounds in this respect for domestic and large scale applications
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