Effect of Silver Nanoparticles and Sodium Silicate on Vase Life and Quality of Cut Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum L.) Flower

Dendranthema grandiflorum L. is one of the widely cultivated flowers around the world for producing of cut flowers. Nanometer-sized silver particles are used in various applications as an anti-microbial compound. This experiment was carried out to study the effects of silver nanoparticles (0, 5, 10 and 20 mg/L) and sodium silicate (0, 50, 100 and 150 mg/L) on longevity and quality of cut chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum L.) flowers. A factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with 16 treatments, 3 replications, 48 plots and 192 cut flowers. The cut flowers were pulsed for 24 h with pulse solutions and then transported to 300 mg L-1 8-hidroxy quinoline sulfate and 3% sucrose. The characteristics such as vase life, loss of fresh weight, number of bacterial colonies in stem, lipid peroxidation, and activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured. Results showed that all treatments had positive effects on the vase life of flowers. Pulse solution with 10 mg/L silver nanoparticles and 100 mg/L sodium silicate and interaction between them, increased vase life compared to the control (3.21, 4.46 and 8.50 days, respectively). In addition, the flowers pulsed with silver nanoparticles and sodium silicate exhibited higher activity of SOD, compared to control. The present study showed that using proper concentrations of silver nanoparticles and sodium silicate can enhance the vase life of cut chrysanthemum flowers.