A NEW SOLUTION FOR CARNATION BUD OPENING, WITH PROMISING IMPROVEMENTS DUE TO A QUATERNARY-AMMONIUM COMPUND

ISHS Acta Horticulturae 113: II International Symposium on Post-harvest Physiology of Cut Flowers

A NEW SOLUTION FOR CARNATION BUD OPENING, WITH PROMISING IMPROVEMENTS DUE TO A QUATERNARY-AMMONIUM COMPUND

Authors:

A. Ma. Casp, P.J. Salvador, Ma. J. Ibañez, .

Abstract:
In previous works we have demostrate that in induced opening of bud harvested carnations, the opening solutions have greater influence in the flowers quality that the opening environment.

In this work it is compared the natural opening, and different solutions known through bibliography (modified Cornell, Davis, Kagawa and TOG solutions) with a solution where appears as special component a quaternary-ammonium salt, the dichlor-benzyl-dimethyl-alkyl ammonium chloride (benzalkonium chloride).

The quaternary ammonium salts are widely spread used in other activities, due to their biocide power and even have been studied by their opening and conservating effect in carnations. It has been developped a new opening solution, formed by benzalkonium chloride, citric acid and sucrose.

This new solution improves the useful life, opening speed, corole diameter and flavor of carnation flowers, related to natural opened flowers, and without colour differences to these. For an industrial applying of the proccess, this new solution has several advantages over the known solutions:

it needs no distilled water,
it is transparent, colour less, and without precipitates,
it is no phytotoxic, and does not alter the flowers stems,
it is economic.

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