Pre- and/or Postharvest Silicon Application Prolongs the Vase Life and Enhances the Quality of Cut Peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) Flowers

Abstract

Peony is an important ornamental plant and has become increasingly popular for cut flower cultivation. However, a short vase life and frequent poor vase quality severely restrict its market value. The study described herein was conducted to investigate the effects of silicon application on the vase life and quality of two cut peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) cultivars, ‘Taebaek’ and ‘Euiseong’. For pre- and/or postharvest silicon application, four experimental groups based on treatments were designed. With silicon treatment, the relevant growth attributes, including the shoot and leaf lengths, stem and bud diameters as well as the leaf width were all remarkably increased. In the postharvest storage, the addition of silicon to the holding solution in the vase was able to significantly extend vase life, delay fresh weight decrease, and improve vase quality, as characterized by the antioxidant enzyme activities and mechanical stem strength. Taken together, silicon application, regardless of the approach, was able to effectively prolong the vase life and enhance the quality of cut peony flowers.

Lighting from Top and Side Enhances Photosynthesis and Plant Performance by Improving Light Usage Efficiency

“…100 mg of the powder was homogenized in 50 mM of PBS (1 mM EDTA, 1 mM polyvinylpyrrolidone, and 0.05% ( v/v ) triton-X, pH = 7.0). The resulting mixture was then centrifuged (13,000 rpm, 4 °C, 20 min) to obtain the supernatant that would be used afterward for the total protein estimation and enzyme activity assay [ 78 ]. The total protein estimations were conducted using Bradford’s reagent [ 79 , 80 ].…”

Side Lighting Enhances Morphophysiology by Inducing More Branching and Flowering in Chrysanthemum Grown in Controlled Environment

“…A total amount of 100 mg of the powder was homogenized in 50 mM of PBS (1 mM EDTA, 1 mM polyvinylpyrrolidone, and 0.05% ( v / v ) triton-X, pH = 7.0). This mixture was then centrifuged (13,000 rpm, 4 °C, 20 min) to obtain the supernatant that would later be used for total protein estimation and the enzyme activity assay [ 96 ]. The total protein estimations were conducted using Bradford’s reagent [ 97 , 98 ].…”

Drenched Silicon Suppresses Disease and Insect Pests in Coffee Plant Grown in Controlled Environment by Improving Physiology and Upregulating Defense Genes

“…Then, 100 mg of the powder was homogenized in 50 mM of PBS (1 mM EDTA, 1 mM polyvinylpyrrolidone, and 0.05% ( v / v ) triton-X, pH = 7.0). The resulting mixture was then centrifuged (13,000 rpm, 4 °C, 20 min) to obtain the supernatant that would be used afterwards for total protein estimation and enzyme activity assay [ 74 ]. The total protein estimations were conducted using Bradford’s reagent [ 75 , 76 ].…”