Abstract
Cut flowers of rose (Rosa hybrida Hort. cv. Noblesse) with a leaf-less short stem in vase water containing various additives were incubated in a growth chamber (23°C, a 12-hr photoperiod, 75% relative humidity, and a PPFD of 20 μmol·m−2·s−1) for about 2 weeks. The vase life of cut flowers fed with a solution of sucrose + HQS (30 g·liter−1 of sucrose and 0.2 g·liter−1 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate) was about 4 days longer than those fed distilled water alone. However, cut flowers fed with a solution of putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd) or spermine (Spm) at 0.1 mM withered earlier than those fed distilled water alone. The addition of 0.1 mM Put to the sucrose + HQS solution resulted in increased vase life by 2 days compared with that of those fed sucrose + HQS solution alone. Spd and Spm did not induce such an effect. Flowers fed Put-supplemented sucrose + HQS solution showed a much slower rate of petal unfolding and significantly lower content of fructose in the petals than those fed sucrose + HQS solution. The results suggest that Put induced alteration of sucrose metabolism in the petals, resulting in retardation of petal cell growth and unfolding of petals, thereby extending the vase life of cut rose flowers.
