Extension of the vase life of cut daffodil flowers by rapid vacuum cooling

Abstract Vacuum cooling has been widely used as a rapid cooling method for vegetables to enhance their quality and shelf life. The extension of vacuum cooling to the floricultural industry has great potential economic advantages. In the current study, vacuum cooling of freshly cut daffodils was carried out and their cooling processes were investigated. The vase life of vacuum cooled flowers with and without cold storage was studied. The results show that vacuum cooling can significantly extend the vase life of the flowers with and without cold storage and it is a very effective pre-cooling technique for cut flowers. Spraying water prior to vacuum cooling cannot only reduce the cooling time without any negative effects on vase life, but also weight loss. The reduction of weight loss is especially beneficial to vacuum cooling of vegetables.

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