The Effect of Sucrose and Salicylic acid on Longevity and Postharvest Quality in Alstroemeria (cv. Stratus) Cut Flower

Alstroemeria flower is one of the most important cut flowers in the world. Some materials can increase longevity of cut flowers. The aim of this research was evaluating the effect of some chemical solutions on postharvest Alstroemeria (cv. Stratus) cut flowers. This experiment was conducted with two factors of sucrose at four concentrations، 0، 5، 10 and 15 g/l and salicylic acid (SA) at four concentrations، 0، 100، 200 and 400 mg/l with three replication and arranged in a completely randomized design. During experiment، longevity، chlorophyll content، solution uptake، relative water content (RWC)، electrolyte leakage (EL) and leaf yellowing were evaluated. Analysis of variance showed that different levels of sucrose had significant effect only on electrolyte leakage of petal and chlorophyll content. The salicylic acid effect was significant at the one percent level on all traits except for electrolyte leakage of petal. The interactions between sucrose and SA on all traits at the five percent level had a significant effect. The results showed that treatment of 15 g/l sucrose had the highest chlorophyll content and the lowest electrolyte leakage of petal. The highest longevity، relative water content of leaf and petal، chlorophyll، solution uptake and the lowest electrolyte leakage of leaf and leaf yellowing were obtained from treatment with 400 mg/l of salicylic acid. Treated with15 g/l sucrose plus 400 mg/l SA had highest longevity، solution uptake and the lowest electrolyte leakage of petal in compared to the control. Thus، using 400 mg/l SA to increase the longevity and quality of Alstroemeria (cv. Stratus) cut flowers is recommended.