Flower senescence and some postharvest considerations of Amaryllis belladonna cut scapes

Abstract

A study involving flower senescence (tepal senescence) and evaluation of the efficacy of certain chemical formulations on vase life (of its cut scapes) was conducted in Amaryllis belladonna. For studies related to senescence, flower development has been divided into easily recognizable six morphological stages (stages I to VI) and changes in some important morphological and biochemical parameters including fresh and dry weight, MSI, soluble protein content and soluble solid content were recorded. SDS-PAGE of crude protein extract was also performed. Moreover, the cut freshly cut healthy scapes were subjected to different chemical formulations (provided as vase solutions) including sugar source (sucrose) and antimicrobial compounds [Al2(SO4)3 and CoCl2] for assessing the efficacy of these chemicals in improving their postharvest performance. The results indicate that the loss of floral fresh and dry weight, decline in MSI, decline in the content of soluble proteins and changes in the soluble solid content (sugar status and phenolics) may be considered as important parameters of tepal senescence in Amaryllis and that postharvest performance in cut scapes can be improved to a great extent by the combined application of antimicrobial compounds and sugar source at given concentrations in vase solutions.