POSTHARVEST LONGEVITY AND QUALITY OF CUT CARNATIONS, 'PAX' AND 'TABOR', AS AFFECTED BY SILVER NANOPARTICLES

Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) is one of the most important cut flowers around the world. In cut-flower production, improvement of postharvest longevity and quality besides minimizing wastes are considered as strategic objectives. These kinds of flowers are sensitive to microbial contamination in vase solution, which led to shortened vase life as a result of blocking stem vessels on the cut surfaces. Silver nanoparticles (SNP) are novel antimicrobial agents in extending postharvest longevity of cut flowers. Antimicrobial effects of SNP are due to structural changes in bacterial cell membrane and finally cell death. In this experiment, the effects of four concentrations of SNP including 0 (control), 5, 10 and 20 µl L^-1 beside silver nitrate at 100 µl L^-1, all with 4% sucrose in continuous solution were evaluated on extending postharvest longevity and quality of two cut carnations, ‘Pax’ and ‘Tabor’. Electrolyte leakage (EL), chlorophyll (Chl) content, turbidity solution, relative fresh weight (RFW) and solution uptake were also the other traits assessed during this experiment. The results showed the use of continuous solution containing 5 µl L^-1 SNP could increase the vase life of cut carnations up to 8.7 and 5.8 days in ‘Pax’ and ‘Tabor’ cultivars, respectively. Also indicated that the concentration of 5 µl L^-1 SNP was not only effective in extending the longevity of the cut carnations but also preserving the quality of the flowers as well.