Effect of various solutions on vase life and some physiological and biochemical characteristics of rose cut flower cultivars

In order to study response of two rose cut flower cultivars to various solutions an experiment was carried out as a factorial arrangement based on completely randomized design with four replications. The experimental treatments included two cultivars (Peach and Sorbit) and six different preserving solutions (distilled water (control), ethanol, benzyl adenine, gibberellic acid, sucrose and Savory essential oil). The results showed that Peach cultivar had a better response than Sorbit to preserving solutions. The vase life, solution uptake, relative fresh weight and membrane stability index in Peach were significantly higher than Sorbit cultivar. Proline contents and the number of unopened buds in Sorbit were greater than Peach cultivar. The various maintenance solutions had a significant effect on all the studied traits. The maximum vase life (8.64 day), solution uptake (71.51 ml) and total dissolved solids (5.52%) were observed in the preserving solution containing sucrose. On the other hand, the lowest vlues for these traits, and also the maximum number of unopened buds and proline contents were observed in the solution containing ethanol. In both rose cultivars, the solution containing sucrose and gibberellic acid on all the studied days had the more relative fresh weight, flower diameter and membrane stability index than other solutions. In general, it seems that treating rose cut flowers with sucrose have a positive role on improving the flower vase life.