Ethylene and 1-methylcyclopropene action over senescence of nasturtium flowers

Abstract

This work describes ethylene and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) action on post-harvest shelf life of four development stages of nasturtium flowers. To reach this goal, we carried out three experiments. In the first and second experiments, we studied five ethylene (0; 0.1; 1; 10; 100 and 1000 μL/L) and three 1-MCP concentrations (0.25; 0.5 and 0.75 μL/L), respectively. In the third experiment, 1-MCP was followed by combined with ethylene (only 1-MCP; only ethylene; and 24 hours of exposure to 0.75 μL/L 1-MCP followed by 24 hours of exposure to 100 μL/L ethylene). All experiments had two control treatments, one keeping non-exposed flowers inside and another outside exposure chambers. Experiments were set in factorial design, in complete blocks at random, with four 10-flower replications each. Flower senescence was determined by a pre-established visual scale and by observing floral bud development. Ethylene dose above 10 μL/L induced flower wilting and premature senescence from the second floral development stage. Furthermore, higher concentrations of exogenous ethylene promoted irregular flower opening and/or morphological abnormalities in opened flowers. 1-MCP effectively extended post-harvest longevity of nasturtium flowers, independent of the concentration and even in the presence of exogenous ethylene.

Accumulation and Transport of 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylic Acid (ACC) in Plants: Current Status, Considerations for Future Research and Agronomic Applications

“…Treatment with inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis can reduce postharvest senescence of leafy vegetables (Able et al, 2003; Lomaniec et al, 2003) and increase shelf life of cut flowers and potted plants (In et al, 2015; Silva and Finger, 2015). In climacteric fruit, preharvest treatment with inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis can delay the initiation of ripening to increase fruit quality and reduce early fruit abscission of for example apple (Hofman et al, 2001; Drake et al, 2006), pear (Villalobos-Acuna et al, 2010), avocado (Hofman et al, 2001; Salazar-Garcia et al, 2006), mandarin (Nawaz et al, 2008), papaya (Hofman et al, 2001), and mango (Hofman et al, 2001).…”

Effects of Node Position and Electric Conductivity of Nutrient Solution on Adventitious Rooting of Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus L.) Cuttings

“…Broadly categorizing, seed propagation and vegetative propagation are two methods of plant propagation. Many researchers used the seed propagation method to obtain nasturtium plants as samples for experiments [6][7][8]. However, the germination of nasturtium seeds is a difficult and complicated process to manage.…”