Effects of Silverthiosulfate (STS) with or without a Surfactant on the Vase Life of Spray Carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus)

Experiments were carried to clarify why STS treatment on spray carnations was less effective than that on standard carnations so as to develop an improved pretreatment for the spray carnation.1. Determination of Ag+ absorption in spray carnation treated with STS revealed that Ag+ content in their petals was enough to prevent petals from wilting by ethylene.2. The vase life of excised flowering lateral branches was longer than that of intact ones. The result suggest that the vase life of spray carnation was affected because the main stem develops many flowering lateral branches.3. When the number of flowers on a stem was decreased from 5 to 3 or to 1, petal wilting was delayed because of improved water balance. Petal wilting in spray carnation is attributed to water dificiency caused by large taranspirational losses from flowers and ethylene action.4. Treating flowers with the surfactant, polyoxyethylenelaurylether (PLE), enhanced water uptake. Spray carnations treated with STS + PLE had longer vase life than did those treated with STS alone.We conclude that treatments of spray carnations with 1 mM STS+1000 ppm PLE for 1 hr or 0.2 mM STS+100 ppm PLE for 24 hr extend the vase life significantly.

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