Vase life and rehydration capacity of dry-stored gladiolus flowers at low temperature

Abstract

Normally, it is not recommended the conditioning of gladiolus stems in water during storage or transport. Hydration of petals may accelerate flower opening, even at a low temperature, which compromises quality at marketing moment. However, for this species, neither the effect of prolonged dry cold storage nor its behavior when transferred to water at room temperature has been evaluated. The present study aimed to evaluate the vase life and the rehydration capacity of gladiolus flowers ( Gladiolus grandiflora Hort.) after dry storage at low temperature. Flower stems of cultivars Blue Frost, Gold Field, Traderhorn, and Jester were dry-stored at a temperature of 5 ± 1 ºC and relative humidity of 85% for 12, 24, 36, and 48h. Control stems remained always in deionized water. After storage, they were returned to the water at room temperature and evaluated for vase life (adopting the discard criterion when 50% of the basal flowers displayed loss of color and wilting), fresh weight change (%), water uptake rate and transpiration rate, as well as relative water content of the petals (%). In dry cold storage conditions, for up to 36h, the vase life was not affected although incomplete rehydration of the flowers. Rehydration capacity of the stem is linked to the staggered opening of flowers along the inflorescence.

Postharvest conservation of ‘Avalanche’ cut roses with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-beeswax natural coating

“…In our study, RWC increased in all treatments until the 3rd day of evaluation, which can be attributed to the hydration of the stems under good conditions of water supply, temperature (20 °C) and high relative humidity (70-80 %). Costa et al (2017) also observed an increase in RWC in the first hours of storage in a study with gladioli, which was attributed to the good hydration of the stems. As can be observed over time, stems that received 3.0 mL of coating had the best RWC, whose barrier created by the coating on the surfaces of the petals, limits the loss of water and maintains the turgescence in the vegetal tissue.…”

Nonrefrigerated Dry Storage Can Have Negative Effects on Postharvest Quality of Cut Lilium

“…had more water uptake in the first 24 h in the vase after 1 week of 2 C dry storage compared with wet storage (Ahmad et al 2012). Also, gladiolus (Gladiolus L.) subjected to dry storage for up to 36 h at 5 C had rapid water uptake and recovery of fresh weight with just 1 h of rehydration (Costa et al 2017). Compared with gladiolus (Costa et al 2017) and lily, chrysanthemum stems decreased uptake and had limited water flow after holding in air for more than 2 h, and could not restore water flow after flower stems were placed in water (Van Meeteren et al 2006).…”

“…Also, gladiolus (Gladiolus L.) subjected to dry storage for up to 36 h at 5 C had rapid water uptake and recovery of fresh weight with just 1 h of rehydration (Costa et al 2017). Compared with gladiolus (Costa et al 2017) and lily, chrysanthemum stems decreased uptake and had limited water flow after holding in air for more than 2 h, and could not restore water flow after flower stems were placed in water (Van Meeteren et al 2006). These studies show different floral crops have different tolerances to dry storage.…”