Abstract
Effects of sucrose concentrations in solution on petal color pigmentation, concentrations of sugars and anthocyanins in the petals of bud cut carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus L., ‘Nora’) were investigated. Bud cut carnation flowers were treated with sucrose solutions of up to 15% at 23C. Sucrose in high concentrations (2–15%) improved petal color pigmentation. In the petals of fully opened carnations, the concentrations of fructose and glucose increased markedly after treatment with sucrose at increasing concentrations. The concentration of sucrose increased slightly, although that of pinitol and myo-inositol remained almost constant. Two types of anthocyanins, pelargonidin 3-(6"-malylglucoside) (Pg3-MG) and pelargonidin 3-glucoside (Pg3-G), were found as pigments in the petals, of which Pg3-MG was the major pigment. The concentrations of these pigments increased markedly with sucrose concentrations. The results indicated that the application of sucrose at high concentration resulted in high accumulation of soluble sugars in the petals, and this accelerated the synthesis of these two anthocyanins and improved the petal color pigmentation.
