ISHS Acta Horticulturae 518: XXV International Horticultural Congress, Part 8: Quality of Horticultural Products
EFFECTS OF VIBRATION DURING TRANSPORT ON THE QUALITY OF POT PLANTS |
| Authors: | A.A.E. Bulle, G. Slootweg, C. Vonk Noordegraaf |
| Keywords: | mechanical stress, pot plant, transport, vibration |
| Abstract:
During transport pot plants are exposed to severe stress. There is a lot of information about effects of low light intensity, waterdeficit or suboptimal temperatures during transport. Pot plants are also exposed to mechanical stress, in this case the vibration in trucks. The effects of mechanical stress on plant damage and on physiological responses have been investigated. A vibration testing machine was used for different vibration treatments. This computer controlled machine creates a vibration-pattern according to an international norm for roadtransport (ASTM 4728), that can be compared with the real movements in a truck. Several plant species were treated for different periods of time at different intensities of vibration. A dark period before or after vibration treatments, was given to make plants more sensitive for stress conditions. After the treatments the post-harvest life of the plants was tested. After the vibration treatments severe damage was seen on leaves and open flowers. Flowerbuds showed less damage. A lot of the damage was caused by packing material, i.e. sustaining sticks and sleeves with sharp edges. Leaves of Kalanchoe were damaged by scouring along each other. Schefflera, Hibiscus and Clerodendrum showed necrotic spots on the leaves. After a treatment of two days more than 40% of the open flowers of Achimenes, Impatiens and Streptocarpus were damaged. To avoid the direct visible mechanical damage, packing and transportation material should be improved. Vibration during transport has hardly any long-term effects on keepability, indicating that there is hardly an effect of vibration on the physiological processes in plants. The loss of keepability caused by transport seemed to be more influenced by a dark period than by vibration. | |
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