Effect of Cobalt, Silicon, Acetylsalicylic Acid and Sucrose as Novel Agents to Improve Vase-life of Argyranthemum Flowers

INTRODUCTION

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Argyranthemum is a summer flowering that is native to Spain and belongs to the Compositae family. The flower of Argyranthemum is highly ethylene sensitive and the longevity of the cut flower is very short. The cut flower industry is a US$ 2 billion industry and is important revenue for some of the major cut flower producers in the world (Yamada et al., 2003; Chandran et al., 2006). Senescence in the cut flower is affected by three main parameters: the water balance, the supply of carbohydrates and susceptibility to ethylene, ethylene leads to flower senescence, shortening of life (Reid and Wu, 1992; Jiang, 2000). The onset of flower senescence can delay by Treatment of flowers with inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis or inhibitors of ethylene action.

Three of the preserving agents are Co, Si and ASA that inhibits ethylene synthesis and reduces sensitivity of flowers to ethylene (Epstein, 1994; Ansari and Misra, 2007; Mahdavian et al., 2007; Mba et al., 2007; Canakci, 2008; Shi and Zhu, 2008; Karlidag et al., 2009; Joseph et al., 2010). Reezi et al. (2009) showed that Si could extend the vase life of Rose cut flowers by decreasing ROS, malondialdehyde content and ethylene. Jamali and Rahemi (2011) reported that treatment with Co significantly extends the vase life carnation. Kazemi et al. (2011a, b, c, d) reported that addition of SA and SUC in the preserving solution increased the vase-life of cut flowers. SUC is another organic molecule known to delay senescence and prevents up-regulation of senescence-associated genes in carnation petals (Han, 2003; Kazemi and Shokri, 2011). In the present study, we test the hypothesis whether treatment with Co, Si, ASA and SUC or their combination extended the vase life of cut flowers by reduce senescence of cut flowers.