2022 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 333-341
We investigated the effects of light, darkness, and temperature during storage assuming transportation on flower wilting and the flowering period of potted carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.). In the two cultivars ‘Grand Rouge’ and ‘Mahalo’, the flowering period was shortened by more than 2 days and the rate of flower wilting after 7 days was increased to 30 percent under the dark condition at 20°C compared with the light condition (PPFD; 110–214 μmol・m–2・sec–1・12 hours). Ethylene production was observed in the wilted flowers of ‘Mahalo’. In the two cultivars, treatment with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) at 1000 ppb for 12 hours extended the flowering period by more than 1 day and reduced the rate of flower wilting after 7 days by more than 30 percent under the dark condition at 20°C compared with the control. The sugar (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) contents in the leaf of ‘Grand Rouge’ stored for 16 days in the dark at 10°C was 1.75 mg・g–1 FW, which was more than twice as high as at 20°C. In the two cultivars, the flowering period of the plants stored at 10°C was more than 2 days longer than that of those stored at 20°C, and flower wilting was not observed even after 14 days in the dark. In addition, the flower color of plants stored at 10°C for 14 days was almost the same as that before storage.
