ETHYLENE, POLLINATION AND SENESCENCE

Results are presented to show that the survival of carnation cut flowers can be affected by enclosing them with pollinated flowers. Unpollinated flowers were enclosed in unperforated but unsealed cardboard boxes (38 x 24 x 8 cm) with one or two pollinated flowers for one or two days. The survival of the unpollinated flowers after transfer to water was often, but not always, shortened and the variability of the results could be explained by the amounts of ethylene sometimes accumulated inside the boxes. The observations are discussed in relation to commercial marketing of flowers.

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