Influence of various chemical compounds on postharvest longevity of cut leaves of Waldsteinia geoides Willd.

Abstract

The influence of conditioning and different methods of application of chemical compounds on cut leaves of <em>Waldsteinia geoides </em>was assessed<em>.</em> Gibberellic acid and benzyladenine at a concentration of 50 or 100 mg × dm<sup>-3</sup>, and 8-hydroxyquinoline sulphate at a concentration of 200 mg × dm<sup>-3</sup> were used in the process of conditioning. The leaves were conditioned in two different ways. In the first one, half of leaf stalks were soaked for 24 hours. In the latter, whole leaf blades were dipped for thirty seconds. Cut leaves were stored either in water or in the solution of 8-hydroxyquinoline sulphate at a concentration of 200 mg × dm<sup>-3</sup>. It was both the chemical compounds applied and the application method that influenced the postharvest longevity of the leaves. The leaves conditioned in 8HQS and stored in water, those conditioned in BA at a concentration of 50 mg × dm<sup>-3</sup> and stored in 8HQS, and those which were not conditioned and stored in 8HQS exhibited the highest level of postharvest longevity. The application of 8HQS for conditioning had a favorable effect on the increase in the weight of<em> Waldsteinia geoides</em> cut leaves<em>.</em> 8HQS applied in storing resulted in a smaller decrease in the values of the leaf greenness index.