EFFECTS OF GIBBERELLIN TREATMENTS ON FLOWER AND LEAF QUALITY OF CUT HYBRID LILIES

The effects of gibberellin pre-treatment on postharvest cut flower quality of three Asiatic hybrid lily cultivars (‘Vermeer’, ‘Vivaldi’ and ‘Marseille’) were investigated.
Lily stems were harvested when the first flower bud showed full color, and treated with either GA₃ or GA₄₊₇ by placing them in growth regulator solutions (100 or 500 ppm) for 20 hrs at 20°C. A whole stem (leaf and bud) spray with 100 ppm each GA₄₊₇ and BA (Promalin) was also tested.
After the treatments, a set of plants was transferred to a postharvest evaluation room (22°C, 15 μmol m^-2 s^-1 fluorescent light (12 hr/day)). Another set of plants was held in water at 3°C for 2 weeks in darkness before transferring to the postharvest room.
In the postharvest room, stems were held in vase solutions containing 3% sucrose and 200 ppm 8-hydroxyquinoline citrate.
In general, gibberellin treatments increased inflorescence longevity and reduced the occurrence of leaf chlorosis.
At 100 ppm, GA₄₊₇ was more effective in preventing leaf chlorosis than GA₃ in all cultivars.
However, GA₄₊₇ at 500 ppm caused severe leaf and bud damage to all cultivars.
Spray treatment of GA₄₊₇ and BA was as effective as the 100 ppm pulse treatment in preventing leaf chlorosis and increasing inflorescence longevity.
Cold storage of flower stems accelerated leaf chlorosis and reduced inflorescence longevity in ‘Vermeer’ and ‘Marseille’, but no significant effect of cold storage was evident in ‘Vivaldi’. Gibberellin treatments prevented leaf chlorosis and increased flower longevity of cold-stored stems in a similar fashion that was observed in non-cold-stored stems.

VIII International Symposium on Flowerbulbs

A.P. Ranwala, W.B. Miller

Gibberellins, GA₄₊₇, leaf chlorosis, Lilium, postharvest

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2002.570.24