Abstract
A series of postharvest experiments were conducted with cut flowers of Craspedia globosa in an effort to open bud-harvested flowers, determine usefulness of preservatives (sucrose + bactericide), and assess the ability of the flowers to withstand long-term dry storage at 4° C. Bud-harvested flowers pulsed with 20% sucrose solution then held in deionized water (DI) had a longer postharvest life (harvest to senescence) but not vase life (maturity to senescence), and a greater increase in flower diameter during development as the pulse duration increased from 0 to 48 h. Percentage of flowers reaching maturity was 67% regardless of pulse duration. In a second experiment, pulsing with sucrose concentrations of 20 or 25% for 48 or 72 h increased the percentage of flowers reaching maturity to 75% and reduced time of development. This did not increase vase life compared to non-pulsed flowers. Increasing the sucrose concentration in the pulse treatment up to 40% did not increase percentage of flowers opening to maturity. Partially-open harvested flowers treated with 25% sucrose pulse for 48 h had a longer postharvest life than those held in DI or 2% sucrose holding solution. Neither a 20% sucrose pulse nor 2 and 4% holding solutions increased vase life of mature harvested flowers compared to DI. Mature harvested flowers retained a long vase life after 1 or 2 weeks of dry storage.
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