The role of sugars in the prolongation of the vase life of cut flowers was reviewed. Beneficial effect of sugars on the supply of substrates for respiration and, therefore, on longer life of cut flowers is generally recognized. This widely accepted role of sugars as providers of additional substrates for respiration has perhaps largely over-shadowed other important roles. In this review, attempts were made to study the role of sugars in the prolongation of the vase life of cut flowers in general, and in the delay in ethylene biosynthesis or decrease in sensitivity to ethylene in particular.Discipline: Postharvest technology Additional key words: vase life, sensitivity to ethylene, substrates for respiration, water balance JARQ 37 (4), 219 -224 (2003)

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The effects of ethanol on carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) cut flowers were studied by treating five cultivars ('Yellow Candy', 'Sandrosa', 'Francisco', 'White Candy', and 'Iury') with up to 8% ethanol solution and measuring vase life, solution uptake, delay in bud opening of flowers, and ethylene production. Treatment with 4 or 6% ethanol increased the vase life of 'Yellow Candy', 'White Candy', and 'Iury', but not of 'Sandrosa' or 'Francisco'. Cultivars showed variable response to ethanol treatment with regards to uptake of solution, vase life increment, and delay in bud opening. The highest increment in vase life after flower opening with 4% ethanol was for 'Yellow Candy', where the vase life doubled. Total ethylene production in untreated † Corresponding author. H98044 Received 22 September 1998; accepted 9 December 1998flowers varied according to cultivars; treatment with 4% ethanol inhibited ethylene production as well as sensitivity to ethylene. 'Yellow Candy' was the most sensitive to ethylene and most responsive to ethanol; 'Sandrosa' was the least sensitive to ethylene and least responsive to ethanol treatment. The effectiveness of ethanol in extending vase life correlated closely with the longevity, ethylene production, and ethylene sensitivity of each cultivar.

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