| Author(s) | Abdulrahman I. Al-Humaid |
| Affiliation | Horticulture Department, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, King Saud University, Buraidah, Al-Qassim, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
| Title | Effect of Glucose and Biocides on Vase-life and Quality of Cut Gladiolus Spikes |
| Source | Journal of King Saud University. Agricultural Sciences. Volume 17, No 1. (2005/1425) |
| Abstract | Post-harvest quality and vase life of cut gladiolus (Gladiolus gandavensis) “Rose Supreme” and “Nova Lux” cultivars were significantly improved by placing the inflorescence in vase solutions containing antibiotics (200 ppm penicillin + 250 ppm streptomycin) and glucose (5, 10 or 20%). The addition of the biocide to the preservative solution reduced the bacterial counts in the solution, inhibited the microbial growth, improved flower-opening rates, and reduced flower deterioration rate. Although there were positive proportional relationships among sugar concentration (up to 10%) and total bacterial counts in the solution, the addition of the biocide reduced the bacterial counts, resulting in the improvement of post-harvest quality of both tested cultivars. The highest and lowest number of opened and deteriorated flowers, respectively, were achieved when the preservative solution contained a mixture of biocide and 20% glucose. Sugar concentrations in the vase solution resulted in high leaf content of both chlorophyll and total carbohydrates, whereas, presence of biocide in the vase solution reduced both total carbohydrates and chlorophyll contents in the leaves of the cut gladiolus spikes. Keywords: Gladiolus, Gladiolus gandavensis, vase life, biocides, glucose, preservative solution, postharvest quality |
