THE INFLUENCE OF SOME CONSERVATIVE PRODUCTS ON THE LENGTH

OF FLOWERS’ MAINTENANCE AT SOME FLOWER SPECIES

Manda Manuela*, Nicu Carmen, Anton Doina

KEY WORDS
Freesia, Dahlia, Aquilegia, vase life, preservative solutions

ABSTRACT
The maintenance of the quality of the cut flowers is influenced by a lot of
factors :the specie and the soil, the culture’s conditions, the moment and the harvesting’s
technique, the conditionality and the maintenance conditions.
This paper has as a purpose the testing of some conservative substances with a
view to the extending of the length of maintenance as cut flowers in a fresh condition. At
Dahlia, Freesia and Aquilegia.
The best results from this point of view were obtained at the conservative product.
Fresh for all the analyzed species, and the affixing of Bionat product in different
concentrations differently influenced the length of the flowers’ maintenance based on the
specie: at Dahlia the best results were obtained at 3% concentration, and at Freesia and
Aquilegia were obtained good results at a concentration of 5%.

INTRODUCTION

The length of maintenance of the quality of the cut flowers refers, on one
hand, at the elongation of the lives of the flowers used for apartments’ decorations, and on
the other hand, at the maintenance in some special conditions of the flowers obtained in
high periods of the production, but with a slow capitalization rhythm
The decoration period of the cut flowers can be elongated by: the apposition
of some special treatments, depending on the specie, the use of some conservative solutions
and by maintenance at low temperatures. The conservative solutions are used a lot in the
big producing or consuming of flowers countries for quality maintenance or for the
elongation of the decorative life of the flowers and implicit for the diminishing the loss of
the cut flowers.
The researches that we have made has as a purpose the study of the influence of
some conservative products on the length of flowers’ maintenance at some flowering
species cultivated in field or in protected spaces, used more or less as cut flowers.

*University of Craiova, Horticulture Faculty

 MATERIAL AND METHODS

The researches concerning the influence of some conservative products on the

length of maintenance of cut flowers were made in the 2007–2008 at three floricultural
species used as cut flowers in a fresh condition (Freesia, Dahlia, Aquilegia).
The analyzed vegetal material partially comes from the existent collection of
plants in the didactic field of Floriculture Discipline (Dahlia x hortensis Guillaumin,
Aquilegia vulgaris L.), the flowers of Freesia hybrida Hort. "maximaal" have been procured
from commerce.
For the establishment of the length of maintenance of the cut flowers at the three
analyzed species there were used two products: a specific conservative product from the
commerce (Fresh) and a foliar fertilizer also recommended for the maintenance of the cut
flowers (Bionat), tested in three concentration (2%, 3% and 5%). The experimental variants
which had resulted were: Variant 1 - Bionat 2 ; Variant 2 - Bionat 3 ; Variant 3 - Bionat
5 ; Variant 4 – Fresh product; Variant 5 (Mt.) – simple water.
The flowers were kept in the same quantity of water (1 l), and at every two days
the water was changed, respectively the conservative solution; once with the refresh of the
water it was made the carving of 2 cm from the floral shift, and the section of the shifts was
made under water. The temperature was maintained at a constant level during the whole
period of experimenting of the length of flowers’ maintenance.

RESULTS AND DISCUTIONS

Analyzing the diagram concerning opening degree of the Freesia Maximaal

flowers, it can be seen a significant difference at the variants where the flowers were kept
in conservative solutions, to the control.
The optimum moment of harvesting at Freesia is the phase of colored plum.
By applying the conservative products, flowers’ opening was held up at V3 –
Bionat 5% and V4 – Fresh, and the other two treated variants (V1 – Bionat 2% and V2 –
Bionat 3%) registered the same number of opened flowers, as the control.
The first faded flowers appeared at V1 – Bionat 2% and V2 – Bionat 3%, yet
from the forth day, when, at V3 – Bionat 5% and V4 – Fresh, not all the flowers in
blossoms were opened.
The length of maintenance of the flowers was between 6 days at V1 – Bionat 2%
and 10 days at V4 – Fresh, and at the untreated control (V5) the length of decorating was of
8 days.
At Dahlia for the appraisal of the length of maintenance there was registered only
the number of faded flowers, because the optimum moment of harvesting is the complete
opened blossoming.
The best results under the length of maintenance aspect were obtained at V2 -
Bionat 3% (12 days) and V4 - Fresh (13 days).
The use of Bionat product in different concentrations influenced the length of
maintenance of the flowers so:
- in a concentration of 5% it determined a diminishing of a day of the decorative
length than at V5-Mt;
- in a concentration of 3% it determined an elongation with 4 days of the length of
maintenance;

*University of Craiova, Horticulture Faculty

 - in a concentration of 2% it didn’t influence the length of maintenance of the
flowers, the values being the same with V5-Mt.
The length of maintenance was between 7 days (V3-Bionat 5%) and 12 days (V4-
Fresh), to 8 days at V5-control and V1-Bionat 2%.
Aquilegia vulgaris is a rustic, perennial plant, being used for the decoration of
green spaces and less as a cut flower, having a shorter length of maintenance ( 4-5 days).
The optimum moment of harvesting is when half of the flowers are opened.
The length of maintenance was between 1 day at V1 – Bionat 2% and 5 days at V4
– Fresh. In comparison with the untreated control ( V5 – 3 days ) the period of decoration
was elongated with two days when it was used Fresh product ( V4 ) and with one day when
it was used Bionat product 5% (V3).

Chart 1. Procentul de deschidere al florilor la Freesia in functie de solutiile

conservante utilizate
The percentage of opening flowers at Freesia depending on the preservative solutions
used

Chart 2. Procentul de ofilire al florilor la Freesia in functie de solutiile conservante

The percentage of fading flowers at Freesia depending on the preservative
solutions used

*University of Craiova, Horticulture Faculty

 Chart 3. Procentul de ofilire al florilor la Dahlia in functie de solutiile conservante
utilizate
The percentage of fading flowers at Dahlia depending on the preservative
solutions used

Chart 4. Procentul de ofilire al florilor la Aquilegia in functie de solutiile

conservante utilizate
The percentage of fading flowers at Aquilegia depending on the preservative
solutions used

CONCLUSIONS

1. The conservative solutions that we used in the three experiments differently

influenced the length of maintenance of the cut flowers in a fresh condition at Dahlia,
Freesia and Aquilegia
2. The best results from this point of view were obtained at Fresh product, for all
the analyzed species.
3. The application of Bionat product in different concentrations directly
influenced the length of maintenance of the flowers, depending on the specie: at
Dahlia the best results were obtained at a 3% concentration, and at Freesia and
Aquilegia there were obtained good results at a concentration of 5%.

*University of Craiova, Horticulture Faculty

 4. At Dahlia the worst results were obtained for Bionat 5%, and at Freesia and
Aquilegia the lowest length of maintenance of the flowers was also registered at
Bionat, but in a concentration of 2%.

REFERENCES

1. Amariutei Alexandrina, 1987 – Pastrarea florilor taiate- Editura Ceres, Bucuresti

2. Anton Doina, 12- Floricultura generala, Ed. Universitaria, Craiova
3. Anton, Doina, Nicu , Carmen, Manda, Manuela, 2007, Special Floriculture, Vol..II, Ed.
Universitaria, Craiova
4. Jowkar M.M., H. Salehi, 2005 - Effects of different preservative solutions on the vase life
of cut tuberose flowers at usual home conditions, ISHS Acta Horticulturae 669: VIII
International Symposium on Postharvest Physiology of Ornamental Plants
5. M. Devecchi, 2005 - Post-harvest physiology of cut flowers of sunflowers Sunrich
orange' (Helianthus annuus): first experimental results. ISHS Acta Horticulturae 669:
VIII International Symposium on Postharvest Physiology of Ornamental Plants.

*University of Craiova, Horticulture Faculty