ISHS Acta Horticulturae 181: III International Symposium on Postharvest Physiology of Ornamentals
THE EFFECT OF POST-HARVEST HANDLING AND CLIMATE ON TRANSPIRATION AND WATER UPTAKE OF CUT FLOWERS |
| Authors: | H. Harkema, W.G. van Doorn |
| Abstract:
Pretreatment of flowers is only effective if the flowers are able to absorb a minimum quantity of the pretreatment solution. An attempt was made to quantify the effect of post-harvest handling and post-harvest climate on water absorption and transpiration by Dianthuscaryo phyllus hybr. (both standard carnation and spray carnation) and Lilium cv. "Enchantment". Since the growers prefer a short pretreatment time, the uptake experiments lasted only four hours. When the flowers were kept dry during 3–4 hours after harvest, the initial rate of uptake was high, apparently as a result of the low water content of these flowers. After this initial high rate of uptake which lasted 1–2 hours, the rate of uptake was constant in the "Enchantment" lily. Carnation, however, absorbed less water every next hour (within the 4 hours limit). A "glasshouse climate" (20°C/60% R.H./light) resulted in a much higher uptake and transpiration than a "cold store climate" (5°C/95% R.H./ dark or 2°C/90% R.H./dark). The vapour pressure gradient between plant tissue and air was shown to mainly explain the different effects of these climate conditions, but the presence of light also had an effect. | |
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