Articles
EFFECT OF WATER TEMPERATURE ON REHYDRATION AND VASE LIFE OF GERBERA ‘CALCUTTA ORANGE’
Article number
886_4
Pages
39 – 48
Language
English
Abstract
In case of Gerbera, scape bending (bent neck) in the vase is the main constraint for local varieties.
During storage and transportation, generally low temperature and relative humidity of 95-98% are maintained and after completion of storage, at retailers level, there is a tendency to keep flowers in warm water.
However, very little work has been done to compare the practice with its physiological implications.
Grown in the field of Horticulture Research Station, Mondouri, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV) situated at 9.75 m above mean sea level, 23.5°N and 89°E, Gerbera Calcutta Orange was chosen for this experiment.
Interactions among different factors (viz., storage duration, storage condition, packaging materials and water temperature) were studied by following a different analytical tool namely – Principal Component Analysis (PCA) that enabled the reduction of a large number of variables to a smaller, more coherent set of variables.
The study revealed that irrespective of storage duration, storage condition and packaging materials, cold water resulted in maximum vase life.
Though gain in fresh weight during initial hours was more in case of flowers dipped in hot water yet they exhibited minimum vase life, as weight loss was also fastest in hot water treatment.
On the other hand, cold water helped to maintain a steady fresh weight throughout the vase life.
Thus cold water was found to be the best medium for rehydration, irrespective of packaging materials and storage condition, that resulted in better rehydration, maintenance of steady fresh weight, better color retention, less bent neck and longer vase life.
During storage and transportation, generally low temperature and relative humidity of 95-98% are maintained and after completion of storage, at retailers level, there is a tendency to keep flowers in warm water.
However, very little work has been done to compare the practice with its physiological implications.
Grown in the field of Horticulture Research Station, Mondouri, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV) situated at 9.75 m above mean sea level, 23.5°N and 89°E, Gerbera Calcutta Orange was chosen for this experiment.
Interactions among different factors (viz., storage duration, storage condition, packaging materials and water temperature) were studied by following a different analytical tool namely – Principal Component Analysis (PCA) that enabled the reduction of a large number of variables to a smaller, more coherent set of variables.
The study revealed that irrespective of storage duration, storage condition and packaging materials, cold water resulted in maximum vase life.
Though gain in fresh weight during initial hours was more in case of flowers dipped in hot water yet they exhibited minimum vase life, as weight loss was also fastest in hot water treatment.
On the other hand, cold water helped to maintain a steady fresh weight throughout the vase life.
Thus cold water was found to be the best medium for rehydration, irrespective of packaging materials and storage condition, that resulted in better rehydration, maintenance of steady fresh weight, better color retention, less bent neck and longer vase life.
Authors
S. Chakrabarty, P. Munsi, N. Roychowdhury
Keywords
storage duration, packaging, Principal Component Analysis
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