Effect of saline water on the vase life of Narcissus poeticus L. flowers

Abstract

The vase life of Narcissus poeticus flowers collected at the white bud stage was investigated in 13 different concentrations of NaCl (0–5–10–15–20–30–40–…–100 mM). Every 12 hr, the opening stage of the flowers was recorded, divided into 4 main categories (bud, opening flower, full open (FO) flower and wilting flower) and 14 subcategories. The salinity did not affect the flower opening speed, diameter or weight. The duration of the full flowering stage decreased from 92 hr to 44 hr, the sum of the daily ornamental value score (OVS) decreased from 120 by 3 scores per each 10 mM concentration increase. The scape chlorophyll content increased at low salinity (10–15 mM) and then decreased significantly. The carotenoid content in the scapes of wilted flowers increased in 30–100 mM solutions compared to the values in the flowering stage and flowers grown at lower salt concentrations. The Na and Cl contents in the plant parts increased significantly with the increase in salinity (at the end of the experiment, 100 mM NaCl: scapes: 44.1 g · kg-1 and 67.2 g · kg-1 Na and Cl; flowers: 16.8 g · kg-1 and 24.8 g · kg-1 Na and Cl, respectively). There was an inverse correlation between the Na and K contents in the scapes. The EC value of the vase solutions decreased during the experiment.