Effect of methyl jasmonate fumigation on physio-biochemical characteristics and postharvest quality of gerbera cut flowers cv. Pink Elegance

The effect of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) vapor treatment on antioxidant enzymes activities and vase life of gerbera cut flower was investigated in this experiment. This research was conducted as a split-plot experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications at the laboratory of the postharvest physiology, College of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University in 2013. Gerbera flowers were harvested at early morning from a commercial greenhouse and cut flower stems were put in a preservative solution containing 200 mg/L 8- hydroxyquinoline sulfate and sucrose 3 percent, exposed to 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 µlL−1 MeJA with 20 µlL−1 ethanol and control for 24 h. The results showed that MeJA significantly increased vase life and improved postharvest characteristics of cut gerbera flowers. MeJA 0.2 µlL−1 treatment extended the vase life to 15.67 days, compared to the control and ethanol treatments. Minimum of petal wilting symptoms were revealed in samples treated with MeJA. The lowest malondialdehyde and lipid peroxidation rates were also observed in MeJA treatments that they had a significant difference with ethanol and control. MeJA treatments resulted in increasing antioxidant enzymes activity and protein content compared with ethanol or control.