Evaluation of some garden flowers as specialty cut flowers in Eskisehir province-Türkiye

Specialty cut flowers are in demand, especially in the domestic market as they can be grown with low production costs without the need for specially equipped greenhouses and offer diversity in terms of form, texture, and colour. These products, which are widely cultivated in the USA, are not well known in Türkiye. One of the main problems of the Turkish cut flower sector is its dependence on foreign inputs and the lack of product diversity. Therefore, specialty cut flower production can be an alternative crop for Türkiye, which has climatic advantages. The cut flower potential of plants such as Zinnia elegans, Tagates erecta, Helianthus annuus, Gomphrena globosa, Centaurea cyanus, and Cleome spinosa that are commonly grown in gardens has been evaluated. After harvesting these flowers grown in an open field in June-October 2020, the stem length (cm), stem thickness (mm), flower length (cm), flower diameter (cm), flower weight (g), and vase life (days) were measured. As a result of the evaluations, considering the phenological findings such as flowering and harvesting period, Zinnia elegans, Tagates erecta, Helianthus annuus, Gomphrena globosa, and Centaurea cyanus were found to be suitable for Eskişehir climatic conditions due to their long flowering periods. On the other hand, if the stem length value, which is one of the most important parameters for cut flowers, is taken as a reference, the minimum stem length value of 30 cm and above is met by Zinnia elegans, Tagates erecta, Helianthus annuus, and Cleome spinosa while the vase life value of 6 days and above is met by Zinnia elegans, Tagates erecta, Helianthus annuus, Gomphrena globosa, and Cleome spinosa. However, Cleome spinosa was not found to be suitable for the region due to its low yield value and short flowering period, while Zinnia elegans, Helianthus annuus, Tagates erecta, and Gomphrena globosa were found to be plants that could be evaluated for the region. In addition, it is believed that the cultivation of specialty cut flowers, with the selection of suitable species, will be an alternative production in regions without climatic advantages.

Physico-Chemical Responses of Alstroemeria spp. cv. Rebecca to the presence of Salicylic Acid and Sucrose in vase solution during postharvest life

BACKGROUND

The primary challenge in the cut flower industry, specifically in the postharvest phase, is the short vase life of flowers. This issue, along with early leaf yellowing and perianth abscission, significantly diminishes the economic value of flowers due to their accelerated senescence. To tackle this, we conducted a factorial experiment on Alstroemeria cv. Rebecca, utilizing a completely randomized design with three replications. In this experiment the effects of varying concentrations of Salicylic acid (SA) (0, 1.5, and 3 mM) and sucrose (SU) (0% and 3%) were investigated on the postharvest quality of leaves and florets, with systematic evaluations every three days throughout their vase life.

RESULTS

This experiment revealed that the specific treatment combination of 1.5 mM SA + 3% SU (T5) markedly improved various parameters, such as vase life, total chlorophyll content, membrane stability index, relative fresh weight, and water uptake of cut flowers. In our analysis, we observed that this preservative solution not only extended the vase life and enhanced water uptake but also effectively preserved total chlorophyll, mitigated the loss of fresh weight, and reduced membrane deterioration in petals. Additionally, our results showed an increase in the activities of catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) enzymes, as well as total protein content, alongside a decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels. Moreover, this study noted a decrease in microbial populations in solutions containing different concentrations of salicylic acid.

CONCLUSIONS

Our research demonstrated that alstroemeria flowers maintained in a solution with 1.5 mM SA + 3% SU exhibited a significantly prolonged vase life of up to 21 days, in contrast to the 15 days observed in control flowers kept in water. These results are highly beneficial for manufacturers in the cut flower industry, as they provide a viable method to substantially extend the vase life of cut flowers. Such an enhancement in flower longevity can lead to increased market value and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the reduction in flower senescence and decay rates can contribute to decreased waste and greater efficiency in cut flower distribution and sales, offering a substantial advantage to manufacturers in this competitive market. The extended vase life and reduced senescence observed in alstroemeria flowers treated with 1.5 mM SA and 3% SU are attributed to SA's role in enhancing endogenous defense responses and sucrose's function as an energy source, collectively improving water uptake, and delaying the natural decay process.

Nitric oxide effectively curtails neck bending and mitigates senescence in isolated flowers of Calendula officinalis L

In recent years, there has been a considerable and renewed upsurge in research to ascertain the physiological and biochemical role of Nitric oxide (NO) in plants. The present investigation is focused to study the role of NO on neck bending associated with senescence and postharvest performance in isolated flowers of Calendula officinalis. The flower buds harvested at one day before anthesis stage were supplied with sodium nitroprusside (SNP) as a source of NO at different concentrations viz., 50, 100, 150 and 200 µM. A distinct set of flowers held in distilled water designated the control. The investigation revealed that SNP delayed the senescence in flowers of C. officinalis significantly manifested by prolonged longevity. The maximum longevity of 12 days was recorded in flowers supplemented with 100 µM SNP. The flowers held in distilled water (control) displayed early senescence symptoms and lasted for 6 days only. Our research suggested that improved flower longevity by SNP was commensurate with delayed neck bending, inhibition of bacterial growth in the vase, increased solution uptake, high membrane stability, besides an up-regulated activities of antioxidant enzymes in the tissue samples. In addition, the treated flowers exhibited increased content of  sugar fractions, total phenols and soluble proteins in the petal tissues compared to control. Further, 100 µM SNP was observed as most effective treatment and increased the longevity of flowers by 6 days. The concentration above 150 µM provoked early senescence compared to control, whereas concentration lower than 100 µM was less efficacious in improving the postharvest life and longevity of cut Calendula flowers.

Utilization of environmentally friendly essential oils on enhancing the postharvest characteristics of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat cut flowers

Chrysanthemum is one of the most consumed and most valuable cut flowers worldwide. In this study, the effectiveness of three concentrations of either thyme oil (300,400 and 500 mg/l) or clove oil (150,250 and 500 mg/l) as additives in holding the postharvest solutions of chrysanthemum ‘‘Arctic Queen White’’ cut flowers were investigated. The experiments were carried out as a completely randomized design in three replicates. Many postharvest characteristics have been evaluated, such as the vase life of cut flowers, diameters of head flowers and stem, dry matter of flowers, total vase water uptake, total loss of water, relative fresh weight. Additionally, the chlorophyll contents, total sugar, and bacterial counts were determined. The results showed that the longest vase life of cut chrysanthemum was 36.50, 33.40 days, and 35.88, 31.33 days by addition of either the thyme oil (500 mg/l) or clove oil (250 mg/l) in holding solution as compared with distilled water (18.09 and 17.22 days) in both seasons. The highest total vase water uptake and relative fresh weight were (225.00, 211.05 g/flower/day) and (79.89, 70.37 %) of cut chrysanthemum treated with 500 mg/l thyme oil in both seasons. Whereas the lowest total water loss in the two seasons was 155.11 and 156.60 g/flower/day was found with 400 mg/l thyme oil. The greatest chlorophyll a, b, carotenoids, and total sugar contents obtained from treated cut chrysanthemum with 500 mg/l thyme oil (6.89, 2.37, 5.99 mg/g, and 0.88 mg/gm D.W, respectively). Furthermore, the treatment of cut flowers with selected oils has significantly decreased the bacterial growth compared to the control. Whereas the minimum bacterial activities were <1 C.F.U/ml with cut chrysanthemum fortified with 500 mg/l thyme and clove oils. Moreover, the superlative treatments with thyme (500 mg/l) and clove (250 mg/l) showed a prime state of xylem vessels comparable with the control.thus, the usage (addition) of thyme and clove oils as a natural preservative in holding solutions instead of chemicals would be of great economic and environmental impact (Values).

Dataset on the combination effects of 1-methylcyclopropene and salicylic acid on postharvest quality of cut roses 'Peach Avalanche' and 'Sexy Red'

Cut roses is one of the important ornamental cut flowers. Many factors affect the loss of postharvest life quality of cut flower, such as temperature, humidity and the presence of ethylene during postharvest storage. In ethylene sensitive roses, ethylene enhances petal discoloration, chlorophyll degradation, petal efflorescence and increase in petal diameter which generating in flower senescence. This data article described the effect of 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), Salicylic Acid (SA) and its combination on the postharvest life quality of two commercial cut roses varieties, ‘Peach Avalanche’ and ‘Sexy Red’. The flower longevity quality of 1-MCP at 0.5 and 1 µL/L, SA 1.0 and 1.5%, combination of 1-MCP + SA (0.5 + 1.0 µL/L and 1.0 + 1.5%), and untreated flowers were analyzed.

Nano-silver modifies the vase life of cut herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) flowers

Herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) is a popular high-grade cut flower because of higher ornamental value. However, its short flowering time severely restricts the production and application of cut P. lactiflora flowers. In this study, nano-silver (NS) was applied to prolong the vase life of cut P. lactiflora flowers. Under the NS treatment, related physiological indices including relative electrical conductivity (REC), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide anion free radical (O₂^·-), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and free proline contents, and protective enzyme activities including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and ascorbic acid peroxidase (APX) all increased in cut P. lactiflora flowers except soluble protein. Meanwhile, NS treatment increased relative water uptake (RWU) and Ag⁺ distribution. Moreover, the observation of microstructures indicated that the stem-ends without NS treatment were blocked by microbes which were identified as Alternaria sp. and Phoma sp., and NS effectively inhibited their growth by antibacterial efficacy observation. Additionally, three aquaporin genes (AQPs) including two plasma membrane intrinsic protein genes (PlPIP1;2, PlPIP2;1) and one NOD26-like intrinsic protein gene (PlNIP) were isolated, PlPIP1;2, and PlPIP2;1 that were induced by NS treatment took common effects on maintaining the water balance of cut P. lactiflora flowers. Consequently, the vase life of cut P. lactiflora flowers was prolonged and flower fresh weight together with flower diameter was well kept because of these above factors. These results would provide a theoretical basis for prolonging the vase life and improving the ornamental quality of cut P. lactiflora flowers with NS application.

Evaluation of plant-mediated Silver nanoparticles synthesis and its application in postharvest Physiology of cut Flowers

Today the use of silver nanoparticles is becoming increasingly widespread due to their wide applications as antimicrobial agent. Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) using the petal extract of saffron (Crocus sativus) as a reducing agent from 5 mM AgNO3 has been investigated in this work. Diverse petal extracts quantities and reaction times were used for the synthesis of SNPs. The resulting SNPs were characterized by means of UV-Vis, XRD and FTIR techniques. SNPs were synthesized rapidly within 30 min of incubation period and synthesized SNPs showed an absorption peak at 380-400 nm in the UV-Vis spectrum. XRD spectrum confirmed the formation of metallic silver, too. Green synthesized SNPs were used as antimicrobial agent against three bacterial genera of Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter which contaminate preservative solution of cut-flowers, too. According to the results biosynthesized SNPs using saffron petals successfully controlled these bacteria and have made them promising candidates as new generation of antimicrobials. This route is rapid, simple without any hazardous chemicals and economical to synthesized SNPs.