Studies on Storage Methods of Agricultural Products (IV)

Effects of Precooling and Cold Storage Methods on the Quality of Cut Cladioli

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of precooling and cold storage methods on the quality of gladioli.
Gladioli, harvested at Ibusuki, Kagoshima prefecture, were precooled with conventional cold storage and vacuum cooler. After precooling, they were stored in conventional cold storage from the 29th of June to the 22nd of July in 1973.
The quality of cut gladioli was investigated during cold storage and after shipment.
A summary of the results is as follows.
1) Time of cooling of gladioli from the initial temperature of product 30°C to 4°C were 0.17 hours in division of vacuum-non prewetting and cold storage with stem in water and non package, 1.3 hours; perforated P. E. packge and P. V. C. film package, 6.0 hours; carton package, 7.8 hours; closed P. E. package, 8.4 hours.
2) When samples with stem were stored in water at room temperature after 7 days' cold storage. the beneficial effects of precooling were recognized in division of vacuum-non prewetting.
3) In dry storage, gladioli in divisions of P. V. C. film package and vacuum-non prewetting maintained (kept) higher quality than that of division of current carton packge.
4) The common opinion that cut flowers stored in cold storage were easy to be deteriorated after shipment was not recognized, and neither was is recognized that blooming rate of cut flowers with stem stored in water was faster than that of dry storage.
5) The storage lives of cut gladioli were 7 days in division of non package and 10-14 days in division of package under 2°C, 85-90% R. H. Especially, if their expected life after shipment was permitted for a day, the storage life of them in division of P. V. C. film package was for about 15 days.