Sensitivity of potted ornamental peppers to ethylene

Rusthon Magno Cortez Dos Santos,Fernanda Ferreira De Araújo,Claudio Horst Bruckner,João José Da Silva Neto,Fernando Luiz Finger,Mayana Ferreira Nascimento

doi:10.14295/oh.v24i4.1458

Abstract

Many environmental factors affect the post-production shelf life of potted ornamental plants. Exposure to ethylene can reduce the quality of many species, inducing flower, fruit and leaf abscission and senescence. The present study identified ethylene-resistant pepper genotypes during post-production shelf life testing. Potted plants of eleven pepper cultivars were transferred o a 90-L sealed container when they had 30% of ripe fruits and treated with 10 μL L-1 of ethylene for 48 hours. Number of leaves and fruits were counted at the beginning of ethylene exposure and after 48, 96 and 144 hours. The experimental design was completely randomized, with five replicates of individual pots. The cultivars showed varied rates of foliar and fruit abscission. ‘Peloteira’ showed higher resistance to ethylene, with foliar abscission of 19%, after 144 hours. For fruit abscission, the cultivars ‘Peloteira’, ‘Jalapeño’, ‘Stromboli ornamental’, ‘Malagueta’ and ‘Rocoto Vermelha’ presented a lower percentage of leaf drop, varying between 9 and 34%, after 144 hours of exposure to ethylene. This study showed that ornamental peppers have high genetic diversity regarding ethylene sensitivity.

Highlights

Peppers are an important part of Brazilian plant biodiversity with a large number of varieties that differ in type, color, size, and flavor (PEREIRA and RODRIGUES, 2005; NASCIMENTO et al, 2012)
The use of peppers as potted ornamental plants with fruit that can be consumed has increased, becoming another way to increase the financial return to farmers (FINGER et al, 2012; RÊGO and RÊGO, 2016)
Sales of decorative peppers in Brazil are still limited to free markets and some supermarkets, but the situation is changing, and more consumers are able to buy peppers in flower shops (RÊGO and RÊGO, 2016)

Summary

Introduction

Peppers are an important part of Brazilian plant biodiversity with a large number of varieties that differ in type, color, size, and flavor (PEREIRA and RODRIGUES, 2005; NASCIMENTO et al, 2012). Peppers can be consumed fresh, boiled or dehydrated, at an immature or mature stage, or in the form of sauces and jams (FINGER and PEREIRA, 2016). The use of peppers as potted ornamental plants with fruit that can be consumed has increased, becoming another way to increase the financial return to farmers (FINGER et al, 2012; RÊGO and RÊGO, 2016). The many colors of the fruits, which attractively contrast with the foliage (MELO et al, 2014), and the durability, cost benefit and easy handling of the plants add value to ornamental peppers (JUNQUEIRA and PEETZ, 2014)

Objectives

Methods

Results