Evaluation of ethylene production by ten Mediterranean carnation cultivars and their response to ethylene exposure

Abstract

Vase life is one of the most important characters of postharvest cut flower quality. The onset of ethylene production and the amount of ethylene produced by flowers vary with the carnation cultivar, and thus influence their vase life. In the present study, differences in ethylene production and the response to exogenous ethylene among carnation cultivars were evaluated. Ten different cultivars: 'Baltico', 'Domingo', 'Exotica', 'Famosa', 'Kiro', 'Madame Augier', 'Master', 'Mundo', Pilar' and 'Reina' were studied. Five flowers for each cultivar were exposed for 8 hours to 1 µL L -1 exogenous ethylene concentration. Ethylene production, fresh weight and water uptake was measured daily throughout the experiments. The 10 different cultivars studied showed clear differences in vase life, ethylene production, onset time in ethylene production and response to exogenous ethylene. The shortest vase life was for 'Exotica' flowers which was only 11.6 days, while 'Baltico' and 'Pilar' lasted 2.5-3 times longer than 'Exotica'. Most of the investigated cultivars showed notable increases in the amount of ethylene. However, 'Baltico' and 'Pilar' flowers produced only a trace amount of ethylene and had the longest vase life. Results showed that cultivars with a long vase life ('Baltico' and 'Pilar') display high ethylene responsiveness and, in contrast, cultivars with a short vase life ('Exotica' and 'Mundo') present low responsiveness. The decline in fresh weight of cut flowers observed in the last phase of their vase life occurred earlier in short-lived cultivars than in the longer-lived ones.Additional key words: exposure to ethylene; fresh weight; petal in-rolling; water uptake and wilting.

Effects of Crossing and Selection for Seven Generations Based on Flower Vase Life in Carnations (<i>Dianthus caryophyllus</i> L.), and the Relationship between Ethylene Production and Flower Vase Life in the Breeding Lines

“…Our results here and in previous studies indicate that variation in flower vase life is not due to differences in ethylene sensitivity, but to differences in ethylene production. Similar results were reported by Ebrahimzadeh et al (2011) using ten Mediterranean carnation cultivars.…”

Sensitivity Consequences of Ethylene in Determining the Vase Life of Eremurus spectabilis and E. persicus

“…However, the response to exogenous ethylene varied between the two species. In agreement with these results, variations in the sensitivity of species or cultivars have been reported in important cut flowers such as orchids [15], carnations [18,29,31], tulips [17], roses [21,32], petunias [33], and dahlias [23]. These findings suggested that the extent of ethylene production and its effect on cut flowers vary widely according to species or cultivars, indicating that sensitivity varies among different cut flowers.…”

A screening test for the determination of cut flower longevity and ethylene sensitivity of carnation

“…Some long-life cultivars, such as 'Chinera' and 'Epomeo' , have lower ethylene sensitivities than the normal Sim-type cultivar 'White Sim' (Wu et al 1991). However, Ebrahimzadeh et al (2011) observed that some long vase life cultivars show high ethylene responsiveness and, in contrast, cultivars with a short vase life show low responsiveness. In this regard, Onozaki et al (2004) reported that Mediterranean carnation cultivars show more variation in ethylene production and sensitivity than Standard Sim-type cultivars.…”