Effect of some postharvest treatments on some cut flowers / Enas Ali Youssef ElShereef ; Supervised Mona Ahmed Darwish , Olfat Hamed El-Shaity , Fatma Elnabawia Mohamed El-Quesni

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Agriculture - Department of Ornamental Horticulture

The experiment was carried out at postharvest laboratory of the Department of Ornamental Plants and Woody Trees, National Research Centre during two successive seasons ( 2007/2008 and 2008 /2009) to investigate the effect of some chemical preservatives on the vase life of carnation and solidago cut flowers to improve its quality and extend the shelf life period. Results of the first experiment showed that carnation flowers were treated by 300 ppm 8-HQS +40 g/l sucrose prolonged the vase life and caused the maximum increase in fresh weight, the lowest % of weight loss at initial days, increased water uptake in cut flowers and highest level of water balance and highest value of dry weight highest values of reducing sugars in both seasons. Most of tested vase solutions significantly increased water uptake with increasing days of shelf life period up to 10 days, 0.4mM STS for 6 h. + 50 g/l sucrose gave the best results. using 150 ppm 8-HQS + 20 g/l sucrose gave the highest values of chl. a, b and total carotenoids, the highest values of total and non- reducing sugars were found when carnation cut flowers pulsed in 50 ppm GA3 for 24h. then placed in 200 ppm 8-HQS in both seasons.Results of the second experiment indicated that treatment of solidago cut spikes with 0.4 mM STS for 6 hours gave the best results in prolonging vase life, highest values of maximum increase in fresh weight. Using 0.4 mM STS for 6h. +50g/l sucrose gave the highest level of water uptake

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