APPLICATION OF VARIOUS LEVELS OF MALIC ACID AND SALICYLIC ACID AS PULSE TREATMENT ON DURABILITY OF 'UTOPIA' CUT ROSE

Short vase-life of cut flowers after harvest leads to problems in transportation and marketing during long distances. Several efforts have been made in increasing the vase-life of cut roses using salicylic acid. In this test, four levels of malic acid (0, 2, 4, and 6 mM) and three levels of salicylic acid (0, 1 and 1.5 mM) were used in a full randomized factorial test on 108 cut roses as pulse treatment. The test was replicated twice with three roses in each repetition. Traits investigated in this test included flower vase life, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, total chlorophyll, fresh weight, flower diameter and quality. Results indicated that both salicylic acid and malic acid had increased flower vase-life and decreased the MDA content, while malic acid had decreased fresh weight loss and increased flower diameter. The vase-life of the flowers was longer in treatment containing 6 mM of malic acid and 1.5 mM salicylic acid. Direct relation was observed between flower vase-life and increased of fresh weight. The treatments have the potential for commercial use in increasing the vase-life of cut roses besides being environmentally friendly.