TITLE	Postharvest life of cut rose flowers as affected by silver thiosulfate and sucrose
AUTHOR	Li-Jen Liao Research Institute of Life Sciences, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, Republic of Chin Yu-Han Lin Research Institute of Life Sciences, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, Republic of Chin Kuang-Liang Huang Department of Horticulture, National Chia-Yi University, Chia-Yi City, Taiwan, Republic of China Wen-Shaw Chen Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, Republic of China Yi-Mei Cheng Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, Republic of China
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ABSTRACT	A pulse treatment of sucrose at 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 g L-1 in combination with 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate (HQS) at 200 mg L-1 for 10 h was evaluated daily for its effect on the vase life and flower quality of cut rose flowers. The pulse treatment of sucrose at above 80 g L-1 produced a vase life of 6 to 7 days, while at below 80 g L-1 vase life was maintained for 4 days on average. The pulse treatment of silver thiosulfate (STS) at 0.2 mM for 2 h or STS for 2 h followed by sucrose at 120 g L-1 supplemented with HQS for 10 h extended the vase life of cut rose flowers to about 9 and 10 days, individually. On the other hand, a pulse treatment with sucrose or distilled water in combination with HQS maintained vase life for 7 and 3 days, respectively. Flower quality of specimens treated with STS followed by sucrose in combination with HQS was better than that of those treated with STS alone. Although visual quality could be maintained for up to 13 days in STS followed by sucrose in combination with HQS, flower quality decreased notably after 10 days. The ethylene production was greatest in untreated rose flowers (about 3 h after harvest) and decreased after chemical solutions treatment. The inhibition of ethylene production was greater in sucrose in combination with HQS than with STS or STS followed by sucrose along with HQS, although the effectiveness of the latter for maintaining rose vase life was better than the former.
KEYWORD	Cut flower; Ethylene production; Rosa hybrida; Silver thiosulfate; Sucrose; Vase life;
ARTICLE INFO	Botanical Bulletin of Academia Sinica, Volume 41 Number 4 October 2000, page 299-303, 5 pages
PUBLISHER	Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China