Effect of Potassium Permanganate on the Quality and Vase Life of Alstroemeria Cut Flower ‘Orange Queen’

Internal production of ethylene gas and increasing in respiration are among the factors that reduce the vase life of Alstroemeria cut flowers and the use of ethylene adsorbents can be effective in this regard. In order to evaluate the effect of potassium permanganate on the quality and vase life of cut flowers of Alstroemeria cultivar Orange Queen, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with two factors and 3 replications. The first factor was potassium permanganate at concentrations of 0, 1, 2 and 4% (w / v) as a treatment in the solution and the second factor was the sampling time (days 0, 6 and 12). The parameters of vase life, relative fresh weight of flowering stem, chlorophyll index, ion leakage rate, malondialdehyde content, total phenol content and activity of catalase and ascorbate peroxidase enzymes were measured. The results showed that the maintenance of cut flowers in post-harvest conditions led to a decrease in chlorophyll index and relative fresh weight, while the activity of antioxidant enzymes increased over time. Application of potassium permanganate led to maintenance of chlorophyll index and total phenol content, reduction of ion leakage rate and reduction of malondialdehyde content, as well as increasing the activity of catalase and ascorbate peroxidase enzymes. The relative fresh weight of flowering stem showed an increasing trend due to the application of potassium permanganate and the concentration of 2% potassium permanganate led to a 66% increase in the relative fresh weight of the stem. Application of 2% potassium permanganate increased significantly (48%) compared to the control and other concentrations of potassium permanganate while vase life was increased 5 days compared to the control. In general, it can be concluded that the application of potassium permanganate at a concentration of 2% increased the vase life and maintained the quality of Alstroemeria cut flowers.