Solutions to conserve the vase life of Heliconia ‘Tropics’

Gisela Carrera Alvarado,Obdulia Baltazar-Bernal

doi:10.1590/s0102-0536-20210401

Abstract

ABSTRACT Heliconia ‘Tropics’ has high market acceptance and blooms year-round. Still, there is little information on solutions to prolong its vase life. The objective of this research was to assess pulse solutions to prolong the vase life of Heliconia ‘Tropics’ in three cutting stages. Floral stems in a closed, semi-open and commercial grown stages from three years old plants grown in an outdoor setting were evaluated. Three experiments were evaluated: sucrose at 10, 20 and 30% (w/v); Hydraflor® 100 at 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 g L-1; and citric acid (CA) at 25, 50, 100, 150 and 200 ppm, and a control (tap water). The floral opening, fresh weight of the floral stems, solution consumption and vase life were measured every two days. Based on the best results of these experiments, the following combinations were assessed: 10% sucrose + 0.50 g L-1 Hydraflor® 100; 10% sucrose + 150 ppm CA; 10% sucrose + 0.50 g L-1 Hydraflor® 100 + 150 ppm CA; 0.50 g L-1 of Hydraflor® 100 + 150 ppm CA and a control. A 10% sucrose + 0.50 g L-1 of Hydraflor® 100 pulse for 24 h had a 22.8-day vase life and was superior to the floral stems in the control treatment (15.6 days) at the semi-open cut stage. This was associated with greater water consumption, lower fresh weight loss and greater floral opening.

Highlights

Heliconia ‘Tropics’ tem boa aceitação no mercado e floresce o ano todo
The research consisted of five experiments: during the first, the effect of a pulse of 0, 10, 20 and 30% (w/v) sucrose for 24 h; in the second experiment, the effect of a Hydraflor® 100 from Floralife®, Walterboro, USA, preservative solution at concentrations of 0, 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 g L-1 pH 7.1, 5.5, 4.2 and 3.9 respectively were evaluated; in the third, the effect of a preservative solution of citric acid (CA) at 0, 25, 50, 100, 150 and 200 ppm with pH 7.1, 6.7, 6.4, 5.8, 5.2 and 4.6 respectively, were evaluated
Solutions to conserve the vase life of Heliconia ‘Tropics'

Summary

Introduction

Heliconia ‘Tropics’ tem boa aceitação no mercado e floresce o ano todo. Mesmo assim, há poucas informações sobre soluções para prolongar sua vida de vaso. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar soluções conservantes para prolongar a vida de vaso de Heliconia ‘Tropics’ em três estágios de corte. A abertura floral, a massa fresca dos caules florais, o consumo de solução e a vida de vaso foram medidos a cada dois dias. Sacarose a 10% + 0,50 g L-1 de Hydraflor® 100 conservantes por 24 h resultou em vida de vaso de 22,8 dias e foi superior às hastes florais do tratamento controle (15,6 dias) na fase de corte semiaberto. Reid (2009) states that maintaining good quality in cut flowers depends on the stored nutrients within the stems, leaves and petals; where carbohydrates are the main energy source for inflorescences, for the biochemical and physiological processes during the postharvest life (Halevy & Mayak, 1978). Sucrose is an additional source of the carbohydrates consumed by respiration (Morais et al, 2015; Dias, 2016); it favors water flow and minerals in the xylem and acts on the stomatal closure, reducing water loss through transpiration, in addition, accumulates in floral tissues, increases its osmotic concentration and maintains turgor (Halevy et al, 1978), which justifies

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