innovative techniques for improving post harvest life of flowers

Divya Slathia
M.Sc
Floriculture
J-13-M-346
Innovative techniques for improving post
harvest life of flowers

STATUS OF FLORICULTURE IN INDIA
About 232.74 thousand hectares area was under Cultivation of floriculture crops, with
production of 1.729 million tonnes loose flowers and 750.66 million cut flower stems
(NHB, 2012-13).
The country has export the floriculture products to the world for the worth of Rs. 423.45
crores in 2012-13 and Rs. 455.90 crores in 2013-14. (NHB)
Major Export Destinations (2013-14):- United States, Netherlands, Germany, United
Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Japan and Canada.
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), is
responsible for export promotion and development of floriculture in India.

STATUS OF FLORICULTURE IN J&K (Jammu province)
• Floriculture has recently assumed commercial dimensions in Jammu and Kashmir state and is
practiced over an area of about 100 ha (NHB Database, 2012) in the province.
• Jammu province is endowed with diverse agro-climatic conditions i.e. subtropical, and temperate.
Subtropical Zone constituted of entire Jammu district, lower parts of Kathua, Udhampur and
Rajouri district.
• These areas are suitable for the cultivation of marigold, gladiolus, tuberose in open and lilium and
gerbera under shade net conditions. The temperate zone essentially covers the hilly area of
Bhaderwah, Kishtwar, Poonch, Doda and Kathua.
• In these areas off- season production of flowers like marigold, gladiolus, lilium, rose, carnation,
tulip and gerbera can be obtained to fetch higher returns.
• High altitude pockets of sub- division like Kishtwar, adjoining to Zanskar region of Kargil district
where gladiolus under protected condition, hollyhock, pansy etc. can be cultivated.
Cont…

• A further boost to acreage is expected to occur due to consistent efforts and technological back up
provided by the SKUAST-Jammu and Department of Agriculture and Floriculture.
• The division is involved in the quality seed production/planting material of recently introduced
promising varieties whereby a number of flower growers of Jammu region have been benefited
• This has led to the replacement of old and poor performing varieties and production per unit area
has also been increased.
• Technology dissemination through training programmes and on farm demonstrations have
motivated farmers for hybrid cultivation and adoption of other innovative technologies.
• In this direction, the Division of Vegetable Science and Floriculture, SKUAST-J, Chatha, has
stepped forward and identified best cut flower varieties of gladiolus namely Eurovision, American
Beauty, Novalux, White Prosperity, Jyotsana and Gunjan for commercial cultivation and
demonstrated in farmers’ field.
• In case of loose flowers, identified marigold variety Pusa Narangi Gainda, is changing the floral
landscape of the region.

There has been significant increase in the area, production and productivity of flower
crops in the last two decades, there is an urgent need to minimize the huge post harvest
losses in terms of the value of the produce which are estimated to be 30-40 per cent of
farm value.
The post harvest behaviour of flowers is an outcome of the physiological processes,
occurring in leaves, stem, flower bud, leaflets peduncle or scape connecting bud to the
stem.
Some of these processes may act independently to affect the senescence and vase life of cut
flowers but most of them are inter-related.
The post harvest losses become important especially when dealing with the export of fresh
flowers to distant and foreign market
Therefore, soft and expert handling of flowers is of utmost importance after harvest.

FACTORS INFLUNCING QUALITY AND LONGIVITY
OF FLOWERS
Factors
Pre Harvest
Factors
Harvest
Factors
Post
Harvest
Factors

PREHARVEST FACTORS:-
• Genetic
• Light
• Temperature
• Humidity
• Mineral nutrition
• Irrigation
• Carbon dioxide
• Use of Agrochemicals
• Planting density
• Pruning
• Pest and diseases

GENETIC FACTOR
FLOWER CULTIVAR VASE LIFE (days)
Alstroemeria Rosario
Pink panther
17.0
8.0
Anthurium Poolster
Nova-Aurora
30.0
15.0
Gerbera Marleen
Agens
20.5
8.3
Rose Lorena
Minsi Rose
14.2
7.1
LIGHT
 Red and blue light has great impact on growth, green has least effect, blue primarily responsible for
vegetative growth and red when combined with blue encourage flowering.
 Some plants, like impatiens and begonias, may require shade as an escape from heat. These plants
will tolerate full sun in cooler summer climates.
(Whiting et al., 2014)

TEMPERATURE REQUIREMENT OF SOME COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT
ORNAMENTALS
Name Temperature requirement ( ̊C ) for proper
growth and flowering.
Gladiolus 20-25
Rose 16-25
Orchids 10-25
Tuberose 20-30
Carnation 10-18
Chrysanthemum 13.5-18.5
Aster 10
Marigold 15-30
Dahlia 10-20
Foliage plants 15-25
Bhattacharjee, Post harvest technology of
flowers and ornamental plants
TEMPERATURE

HUMIDITY
• Humidity is inversely proportional to transpiration
• Increasing humidity from 65-85% has no effect on vase life of roses, while a further
increase to 90% decreases its vase life
(Mortenson and Fjeld, 1995)
MINERAL NUTRITION
Growing media which provide nutrient elements play an important role for maintaining
growth and development of ornamental plants.
IRRIGATION
Water stress at any stage of growth has been known to affect leaf and flower senescence by
influencing photosynthesis, stomata closure, protein synthesis and cell division.

CARBON DIOXIDE
CO2 enrichment increases photosynthesis by increasing carboxylation of RUBP and
decreasing photo-respiration.
EFFECT OF CO2 ENRICHMENT ON GROWTH AND FLOWERING OF
GREENHOUSE ORNAMENTALS
crop Concentration of CO2 (ppm) Effect
Chrysanthemum 700-900 High relative growth rate, better flower
quality
Roses 1,000-1,500 Reduced number of blind shoots, higher
yield, longer and strong stems
Tulip 1,000-1,500 No beneficial effect
Carnation 1,000-1,500 Better lateral branching, higher yield and
better stem quality.
Begonia 700-900 Enhance growth rate, shorter culture time,
larger flowers

AGRO CHEMICALS
Agro chemicals such as BA, IAA, GA give positive results and Pre-harvest application of growth
retardants like CCC, Phosphon-D etc. are applied before harvest, which have been reported to improve
quality and longevity of flowers.
PLANTING DENSITY
High planting density adversely affect quality of bloom.
PRUNING
Timely pruning shows beneficial effect on vase life of cut flower while early and late pruning advanced
cut flower senescence
PEST AND DISEASE
• Both diseases and pest cause injuries to foliage and flowers and this accelerate ethylene production.
• Some fungal species such as Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporium, Mucor, Penicillium sp.,
Rhizopus, Aspergillus sp., Alternaria alternata and Acremonium strictum are responsible for early
senescence of flower and wilting and decaying of potted plants.
(De and Bhattacharjee, 2000, 2002).

• Spike type flowers- harvest when one half of
individual floret are open
• Daisy type flower- harvest when flower are fully
open
Stage of Harvest
• In the cool of morning after dew has dried
• Late afternoon or evening also has possibility
because the plants have stored carbohydrates from
the day which will provide a food reserve for the
plant material.
Time of Harvest
• Sharp clean cutting knife.
• Cut should be slanted or squared
Method of Harvest
HARVEST FACTORS

POST-HARVEST FACTORS
Physical
• Temperature
• light
• Relative humidity
Chemical
• Chemical preservatives
• Growth hormones
Biological
• Respiration
• Endogenous ethylene production
• Water loss
• Physical breakdown
• Physiological breakdown
• Pathological breakdown

PHYSICALFACTORS
TEMPERATURE
• Optimum temperature is major important factor determining the longevity of flowers.
• Tropical flower are very sensitive to low temperature and these flowers should be stored at
higher temperature (8-15 ̊C) e.g. anthurium and several orchids.
• Cooling slows respiration and delays senescence.
• The optimal storage temperatures for most cut flowers are between 0-2ºC.
LIGHT
• High light intensity is essential for opening of tight bud cut flowers.
• Carnation can be stored in darkness for longer period without affecting quality.
• Blackening of rose petal has been found by penetration of UV radiation through covering
material of green house
HUMIDITY
• Cut flowers should be kept at 90-95% RH for maintaining turgidity.
• Flower start showing wilting when they lost 10-15% of their fresh weight.
• Transpiration rate reduces with increase in humidity.
• Flowers are subjected to high fungal and bacterial diseases at high relative humidity.
• During precooling RH should be maintained at 95-98%

CHEMICAL FACTORS
PLANT HARMONES
• Cytokinin are natural anti-senescence factor and that declining factor could serve as a trigger
for increased ethylene production
• Gibberlins increases longevity of cut flowers by improving water uptake and inhibiting
decomposition of protein
• IAA promote petal senescence by enhancing ethylene production
• NAA inhibit abscission of flowers
• ABA decrease stomata opening
PRESERVATIVES
• In developed countries, preservatives are prepared in the form of tablets containing a mixture
of chemicals such as sugar, germicide, salts, growth regulators, etc.
• Among sugars, sucrose (2-20%) is used for bud development of cut flowers, depending upon
genotype and species.
• Sugar must be used in combination with germicides in vase solution because sugar make best
media for microbial growth which causes stem plugging.

Respiration is the process by which stored organic materials (carbohydrates, proteins,
fats) are broken down into simple end products with a release of energy.
RESPIRATION:-
Respiration involves degradation of food reserves, especially sugars, in order to produce
chemical energy (in the form of ATP and NADH) needed to maintain cellular metabolic
activity
BIOLOGICAL FACTORS
In general, the rate of deterioration of harvested commodities is proportional to their
respiration rate:
Commodities with high respiration rates will have short potential storage lives.
Commodities with low respiration rates will have long potential storage lives.

 Ethylene is important factor in postharvest life of cut flower ( Han et al,
2003)
 Ethylene may accelerate senescence by increasing the respiration rate,
transpiration, drying, browning and abscission of calyx. (Cohen, 1978)
 Treatment with anti-ethylene compounds, such as STS and 1-MCP, can
effectively protect flower against exogenous ethylene (Redman et al., 2002;
Hunter et al., 2004)
 High ethylene sensitive plants :- Carnation, Orchids etc.
 Less ethylene sensitive plants :- Snapdragon, Delphinium etc.

WATER LOSS
• Flowers have a large surface area and, therefore, they loose water rapidly.
• Flowers should be stored at low temperatures and at a relative humidity of 95% to
reduce water loss and wilting.
The main causes for problems in water uptake are:
• Air embolism: occurs when bubbles of air are drawn into the stems at the time of
cutting.
Air bubbles can be removed by re-cutting the stem.
• Bacterial plugging: Growth of fungi and bacteria can plug the water transpiration
system. To avoid this, holding solutions should be acidic (pH 3.5) and contain
germicides.
PHYSICAL BREAKDOWN
• Bruising and injuries are not only undesirable from an aesthetic point of view, but also
provide pathogen invasion sites.
• The cut flowers must be wrapped carefully and be protected by polyethylene sleeves,
shredded paper etc.
PHYSIOLOGICAL BREAKDOWN
• Physiological disorders may develop following under undesirable conditions or as a result
of improper pre-harvest management leading to ‘weak’ fruit with nutritional imbalances.

 Symptoms of exposure to chilling temperatures include wilting, necrosis, and browning
of colored bracts and petals
 some of these flowers, such as Zinnia, Celosia, and Cosmos perform better when stored
at temperatures above 0̊C. (Dole et al. 2009)
 Harvest time can have a significant impact on the severity of chilling symptoms. In
Heliotropium arborescens and Lantana camara cuttings demonstrated that cuttings
harvested in the morning were more sensitive to storage at chilling temperatures than
those harvested at noon. (Friedman and Rot, 2005)
CHILLING INJURIES
Improper storage conditions
- Chilling injuries
- Heat damage
- Low humidity
- CO2 injuries

HUMIDITY
In Anthurium high humidity favours the extension of vase life, and conserve water loss through
transpiration. (Vieira et al 2014)
HEAT DAMAGE
The respiration of cut flowers of gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii H. Bolus ex Hook.f. 'Vesuvio') and
sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) increased exponentially with increasing storage temperature.
Post storage vase life and negatively gravitropic bending of the neck of the flowers were both
strongly affected by simulated transport at higher temperatures.
CARBONDIOXIDE INJURIES
The vase life of CO2 treated cut flowers in thick polyethylene bag was increased much longer than
those in thin polyethylene bag. The optimum concentration of CO2 for cut flowers in thick
polyethylene bag was 20% and their vase life were increased up to 41.8-108.3% over those in open
polyethylene bag. CO2 reduced dropping of florets during holding in polyethylene bag and tended
to decrease blooming of flower buds during vase life determination. (Ketsa,1986)

Flower size and shape
Big size bud
Uniformity of bud opening
Attractive colour
Uniform stage of development
Free from injuries, diseases, pests & petal discoloration
Good, healthy & normal foliage
BASIC CRITERIA FOR QUALITY CUT
FLOWER

INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR
ENHANCING VASE LIFE

TECHNIQUES
Precooling Conditioning Impregnation
Pulsing
packaging
Cold storage
Bud opening Transport Holding

PRECOOLING
 Precooling is a treatment given to
flowers to remove the field heat
immediately after harvest. It can be
done with ice cold water, cold water or
forced air.
 Precooling temperature is different for
different flowers.
Rose – 1-3 ̊C
Gladiolus – 4-5 ̊C
Carnation – 1 ̊C
Chrysanthemum – 3-4 ̊C
Vaccume pre cooling treatment

CONDITIONING / HARDNING
 It restores the turgor of flowers
wilted after harvest, storage or
transport.
 Conditioning is done with
demineralized water supplemented
with germicides and acidified with
citric acid. Some wetting agents like
tween 20 @ 0.01-0.10% can be used
for this purpose.

0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Water TDZ Sucrose TDZ +
Sucrose
TDZ +GA +
Sucrose
Vase life (days)
Water
TDZ
Sucrose
TDZ + Sucrose
TDZ +GA + Sucrose
a
b
a
b
b
Vase life of bird-of-paradise floret after treatment with conditioning solution
(Macnish and Reid, 2010)
Acta Horticulture
350 mg/L - GA3
500 - µM-TDZ
20% - Sucrose

Treatment (µmol/L )
Control 8.67g 11f 11.33h 16.33ef
GA3 50 µM 21.67d 29.33b 14.67f 23.33c
GA3 150 µM 25.67c 39.33a 15.33f 25.67b
GA3 300 µM 29.33b 39a 16f 27.33a
TDZ 1 µM 11.67f 25c 12h 17.67e
TDZ 5 µM 19.67e 28.33b 15.67f 21.67d
TDZ 10 µM 23.95c 19.33e 13g 21.67d
Effect of GA3 and TDZ on longevity of leaves and flowers in cut Alstroemeria
(Hokmabadi ana kalatejari , 2012)
Acta Horticulture

Treatment Vase life (days) Weight loss after 6
days (% )
Weight loss after
12 days(%)
Control 16.33 d 11.74 18.20
80% HA +20% FA
(100mg/L)
19.33 bc 5.98 9.40
60% HA +40% FA
(100mg/L)
21.17 ab 8.27 13.99
40% HA +60% FA
(100mg/L)
17.67 cd 5.73 11.41
100% FA (100mg/L) 16.00 d 3.87 8.32
100% FA (50mg/L) 21.83 a 5.22 10.73
Effect of Humic acid and Fulvic acid on gerbera flower fresh weight and vase life of harvested flowers.
Nikbakht et al. (2012)
Acta Horticulture

IMPREGNATION
 Loading of flowers with high
concentration of silver nitrate
or nickel chloride or cobalt
chloride for a short period of
time is known as
impregnation.
 It is helpful in reducing the
attack of microbes and
synthesis of ethylene.
 It is generally practice in
crops like Gerbera,
Carnation, Chrysanthemum
and Gladiolus.

Vase life of ‘Duett’ roses after being inoculated with Botrytis conidia
stored in air or higher CO2 for 11 days at 5̊C.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
AIR 10 % CO2 20 % CO2
0 Conidia/ml
10
105 conidia/ml
(Tshwenyane et al., 2012)
Acta Horticulture
105conidial/ml
CO2 CO2
103conidial/ml
Vase
life
(days)
Per ml distilled water
Haemocytometer is use to
determine spore concentration
Mean ± S.E ; n=10
Probability – 0.05%

Treatment Vase life values (days)
AgNO3 30ppm 12.5b
AgNO3 30ppm + 3% sucrose 14.5a
Sucrose 3% 7c
Control treatment 5d
Effect of best treatment of AgNO3 and sucrose on vase life
and post harvest quality of rose cut flower.
(Elgimabi, 2011)
American Journal of Agricultural
and Biological Sciences

0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
control SN100 SN200 SN300 N2 N4 N6 STS2 STS4 STS6
Longivity…
b
b a
d
c
d
e
e
f
f
Effect of post harvest treatment on vaselife of gerbera cut flowers.
(Abadi et al., 2013).
International Research Journal
of applied and basic sciences
SN (Silver nitrate) – mgL-1
N (nano-silver) - mgL-1
STS (silverthiosulfate) - mM
Control – Distilled water

PULSING
 Treating the flowers with high
concentration of sucrose and
germicide for a short period of
time before shipment, in order
to improve the shelf life and to
promote flower opening.
 Pulsing is beneficial especially
for flowers destined for long
storage period or long distance
transportation.

Effect of 8-HQC and sucrose on vase life of rose
cut flowers.
Treatments Vase life (days)1
8-HQS 100 ppm 8.97 a
8-HQS 200 ppm 7.64 b
8-HQS 300 ppm 7 c
Sucrose 1% 5.77e
Sucrose 2% 5.97de
Sucrose 3% 7.07 bc
Control 4 f
(Elgimabi and Ahmad, 2009)
Botany Research International

EFFECTS OF PULSING SOLUTION ON FLOWER LONGEVITY AND MAXIMUM FLOWER HEAD
DIAMETER OF rose CUT FLOWER STEMS EVALUATED AT ROOM CONDITIONS
FACTORS TREATMENTS FLOWER
LONGEVITY
(days)
MAXIMUM
FLOWER HEAD
DIAMETER (cm)
Pulsing solutions
Tap water (control) 13.00d 5.87a
AL2(SO4)3 1gm L-1
13.25d 5.91a
HQS 0.4ml L-1 15.08ab 6.32a
Ca(ClO)2 0.6gm L-1 14.58b 6.22a
NaOCl 0.6ml L-1 15.50a 6.43a
Distilled water 13.67cd 5.81a
SEM± 0.31 0.19
Tsegaw et al. (2011)
Ethiop Journal of applied sciences and
technology
SEM = Standard error of mean

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0 50 100 150 200
Vase life (days)
d
b
a
b
c
Salicylic Acid (mg/L)
Effect of solution containing Salicylic acid on vase life of cut gladiolus ‘Wing’s
Sensation’.
(Hatamzadeh et al., 2012)
African journal of agriculture
research Vol. 7
Vase
life
SA – helps to enrich antioxidant
system actvity like POD.

Vase solution Vase life (days) Floret opening (%)
Deionised water 13.2d 62.8d
Accel (25 mg L BA-1 equivalent) 15.8c 73.9b
Accel (50 mg L BA-1 equivalent) 15.2c 71.9bc
Accel (75 mg L BA-1 equivalent) 14.7cd 68.7c
Accel (100 mg L BA-1 equivalent) 14.2d 66.6cd
10% sucrose + DIW 16.8bc 75.5b
10% sucrose + (25 mg L BA-1 equivalent) 19.8a 84.6a
10% sucrose + (50 mg L BA-1 equivalent) 18.8ab 82.4a
10% sucrose + (75 mg L BA-1 equivalent) 17.5b 78.5b
10% sucrose + (100 mg L BA-1
equivalent)
15.6c 73.2b
Silver thiosulphate (STS) 20.3a 88.0a
Effect of PGR and sucrose an vase life and flower opening
of Polianthes tuberosa flower..
(Hutchinson et al., 2003)
African crop science journal, Vol. 11
STS – Is challenged because of
environment consideration

0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Fructose Glucose sucrose
Eldorado
Black magic
Soluble carbohydrate concentration of petal from cut ‘Eldorado’ and ‘Black Magic’ flower
at harvest.
(Nabigol, 2012)
Acta Horticulture
Concentration
mg/g

Variation with the cultivar in opening and the effect of HQC, Suc+HQC on the vase life of cut rose flower.
Cultivar Days to flower
opening
Vase life (days)
Treatment
Control HQC HQC + Sucrose
Eldorado 4.3a* 13.3a 14.0a 17.6a
Black magic 3.4b 5.6b 5.3b 7.6b
(Nabigol, 2012)
Acta Horticulture
• * Mean followed by the same letter are not
significantly different (p<0.001) by LSD test.
• Black magic has low concentration of sugar in
their petals.
HQC – 200mg L-1
Sucrose – 20 g L -1

Treatments Vase life (days)
Control 4 b
Ethanol
4%
7%
10%
10ab
11 a
8 ab
Methanol 4%
7%
10%
7 ab
9 ab
7 ab
Thyme ess. Oil 50mg L-1
100 mg L-1
50 mg L-1
100 mg -1
9 ab
7 ab
Peppermint ess. Oil 6 ab
6 ab
Black cumin ess. Oil 50mg L-1
100 mg L-1
6 ab
6 ab
Effect of different concentration of essential oils on vase life of carnation flower.
(Fariman and Tehranifar, 2011)
Journal of biological and
environmental sciences

Treatments Longevity (days)
Distilled water (control) 9.00 d*
Methyl jasmonate (350 M) – pulsing 11.00 b
Methyl jasmonate (500 M) – spraying 12.00 a
Mint oil 10.00 c
Ginger oil 11.00 b
Propolis 9.00 d
Longivity expressed in days after harvesting of rose stems submitted to six post
harvest treatments and kept at 20̊ C and 67% RH.
(Pietro et al., 2012)
Acta Horticulture
* Mean followed by different
letters are significantly
different at P≤0.05 (Tukey
test).

Treatments Vase life (days) Solution uptake
(ml g-1 F.W.)
Flower diameter
(mm)
Control 6 d 0.71b 54.84b
10% Artemisia oil 8 cd 1 a 62.27 a
30% Artemisia oil 10 ab 1.09a 63.11 a
50% Artemisia oil 6.33 cd 0.80 b 58.39 b
Effect of Artemisia oil on vase life , flower opening index and fresh
weight loss of cut Chrysanthemum cv. White flowers.
(Hashemabadi et al., 2012)
Annals of Biological Research

0
5
10
15
20
25
30
control 4 mgL-1 8 mgL-1 12 mgL-1
0% Sucrose
4% Sucrose
6% Sucrose
abc
bc
abc
abc
bc
bc
bc
bc
abc
abc
a
Effect of different concentration of Nano silver and sucrose on vase life of Alstroemeria cut flowers cv. Isola.
(Hatefi et al., 2014)
Indian journal of fundamental
and applied life sciences
Nano silver
Vase
life
(days)
c

BUD OPENING
• Use of germicides, sucrose and hormonal solution to promote the
opening of immature buds in crops like chrysanthemums, rose,
carnation, gladiolus, and snapdragon.
• Foliage of some flowers can be damaged if the sugar concentration is
too high.
• Should be open at relatively warm temperature (21-27̊) moderate
humidity (60-80%) and high light intensities (15-30 µmol.m-2 sec-1
PAR).

Treatments
Total water
uptake (ml)
Floret
opening (%)
Diameter of 1st
fully opened
floret (cm)
Vase life
(days)
2% Sucrose 45.50 62.68 2.49 6.15
4% Sucrose 48.50 66.32 2.38 6.75
2% Citric acid 46.85 65.45 2.56 7.44
4% citric acid 44.70 64.93 2.42 7.25
20 ppm AgNO3 52.82 63.31 2.66 7.80
30 ppm AgNO3 45.90 64.76 2.83 6.96
2% Sucrose + 2% citric acid + 20 ppm AgNO3 54.04 68.46 2.76 9.83
4% Sucrose +2% citric acid + 20 ppm AgNO3 55.71 75.22 3.02 10.75
Control 42.76 35.24 2.17 5.00
CD (P=0.05) 3.27 6.02 0.83 2.42
Effect of different holding solution on the vase life of cut tuberose spike.
(Talukadar and Barooah, 2011)
Indian Journal of Hill Farming

GRADING
• Grading means the grouping of
flowers based on quality prior
to marketing.
• Grading is done based on
parameters like appearance,
stage of maturity, blemishes, or
injuries due to diseases,
infestation caused by insect-
pest colour and size of bud,
straightness, strength as well as
stem length.

PACKAGING
 For local markets, the bunches are held in buckets containing water or preservative
solution. And for long distant transport and storage flower bunches are held in dry
cardboard boxes.
 Packaging should be done to protect flower against physical damage, water loss and
external conditions.

In case of orchids
Individual flowers are packed so that the petals are protected from
transit shock and post harvest solution are inserted which keep the
flowers fresh longer.

Wrapping material
Vase life (Days)
Storage duration (Days)
3 6 9 12 Mean
Control (without wrapping) 13.00 12.93 12.33 12.00 12.57
Polyethylene 14.13 13.93 13.67 13.27 13.75
Newspaper 13.80 13.40 12.87 12.47 13.53
Cellophane 14.40 14.20 13.93 13.53 14.02
Butter paper 14.20 13.87 13.53 13.13 13.68
Low density polyethylene (LDPE) 14.00 13.67 13.33 12.87 13.47
High density polyethylene (HDPE) 13.67 13.53 13.13 12.67 13.25
Mean 13.89 13.65 13.26 12.85
(Dastagiri et al., 2014)
Indian journal of applied
research, Vol 4.
Effect of wrapping material and storage duration on vase life (days)in Ornithogalum cut
flower.
C.D.(P=0.05) Treatment= 0.15
Storage duration =0.11
Treatment = 0.21

Effect of packing materials in shelf life of Rosa hybrida
(Safina, 2003)

FLOWER LENGTH
(cm)
WIDTH
(cm)
HEIGHT
(cm)
Carnation 100 40 20
Chrysanthemum 80 50 23
Gladiolus 120 50 15
Rose 100 40 30
DIMENSIONS OF SOME EXISTING PACKAGES

hole 0.5 inch 1.0 inch
Flower type Air flow 7/8 cooling time Air flow 7/8 cooling time
Cfm/box Minutes Cfm/box Minutes
Carnations 70 48 90 40
Chrysanthemums 80 62 130 58
Gypsophila 170 10 260 8
Roses 140 34 200 25
Statice 150 40 210 18
Static pressure, air flow and cooling times required to cool standard boxes of specfic flowers
M.S.Reid (2012)
Cfm- Cubic feet per minute

COLD STORAGE
 After pre-cooling and pulsing the flowers can be stored at low temperature i.e. in
cold store to regulate the flower market or to avoid the glut in the market.
 Controlled atmospheric (CA) modified atmospheric (MA) or hypobaric (LP)
storage method can be used to enhance the post harvest life of flower.

Effect of dry and wet storage at different temprature regimes on vase life of Narcissus tazatta.
Temperature treatment (72 h) Vase life (days)
Dry storage Wet storage
RT- DW 2 5
10 ̊ C- DW 4 7
5 ̊ C- DW 5 10
RT SUC (0.15M) 3 5
10 ̊ C- SUC (0.15M) 5 8
5 ̊ C- SUC (0.15M) 6 11
RT- SUC (0.15M) +8-HQS (50mg L-1) 4 6
10 ̊ C- SUC (0.15M) +8-HQS (50mg L-1) 5 9
5 ̊ C- SUC (0.15M) +8-HQS (50mg L-1) 8 12
LSD AT P-0.05 0.30 0.70
(Gul and Tahir, 2012)
Journal of Horticultural and
Ornamental Plants
Each valve is mean of 5 independent replicates
RT-Room temprature = 15±2 ̊ C
SUC- Sucrose

TRANSPORT
 Some of the flower crops show yellowing during transportation due to lack of light,
therefore there should be a provision of light inside the transporting vehicle.
 Some of the flowers are like gladiolus and snapdragon are sensitive to geotropic
bending, so these should be transported in upright position.
 The flowers which are sensitive to ethylene, ethylene scrubbers containing KMnO4
should be added to those boxes.
 Flower should be transported in corrugated cardboard boxes.

Disease severity of Chrysanthemum flowers during
transportation.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
4 6 8 10 12 14
Refrigated
(Tshwenyane et al., 2014)
International journal of innovative
research in science, Vol. 3
Vase days
DISEASE
SEVERITY
(%)

HOLDING
 Cut spikes can be permanently put in a preservative solution
referred to as holding solution
 Holding solution is similar to that of pulsing solution except
that concentration of sucrose used is less

Influence of different holding solution on vase life of Narcissus Cv.
texa
Treatment Solution uptake
(ml)
Fresh weight of individual
flower (g)
Flower diameter
(cm)
Vase life (days)
1% Sucrose 21.20 14.60 7.66 13.33
50 ppm Cacl2 22.86 15.13 7.86 12.66
50 ppm CoSO4 20.20 13.63 7.40 13.66
50ppm STS 20.36 13.86 7.53 14.00
1% Sucrose + 50 ppm Cacl2 24.10 18.63 9.86 15.00
1% Sucrose + 50 ppm CoSO4 23.93 18.16 9.66 14.00
1% Sucrose +50ppm STS 22.90 17.76 8.73 14.33
50ppm CaCL2 + 50 ppm
CoSO4
28.03 20.20 10.36 15.66
50 ppm Cacl2 + 50 ppm STS 29.20 22.13 11.00 18.33
50 ppm CoSO4+ 50ppm STS 27 22.10 10.23 15.33
Distilled water, control 15.53 10.33 6.36 12.33
CD (P=0.05) 1.15 1.79 0.28 1.10
(Siddique et al., 2012)
Journal of research and
development, Vol. 12

conclusion
 Higher humidity in room.
 Allow clean and fresh air to pass through the room.
 Harvest flowers at right stage.
 Smoking or combustion of gases in room should be avoided.
 Flower vase should not be kept under or near direct sunlight or electric appliances.
 Change vase water every 2 to 3 days.
 Cut the lower stem end by 1-2 cm at alternate day.
 Keep on removing dried or faded flowers.
 Spray with barber sprayer at least twice a day.
 Post-harvest loss of flowers occurs due to improper harvesting, transportation, storage and distribution.
 Postharvest life of flowers is governed by water content, respiratory rate, ethylene production, endogenous plant
hormones and exogenous factors such as microbial growth, temperature, relative humidity and atmospheric
compositions.
 Post-harvest loss of flowers can be considerably minimized and their storage life can be greatly increased by careful
manipulation of these factors.

HOLDING :-
After pulsing and storage flowers are held
in a solution containing sucrose, germicide
ethylene inhibitor and growth
regulator. The flowers can be kept in
holding solution either at wholesaler,
retailer or consumer level

innovative techniques for improving post harvest life of flowers

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