Wet transport improves cut flower longevity and quality in oriental lily

We monitored the environmental conditions during transport for Korean cut lily flowers and then determined the cut flower quality in situ after export. The cut lilies 'Medusa' and 'Siberia' were materialized in this study. The transport environments in the winter (average temp.: 6.9°C, RH: 59.8%, VPD: 4.1 mb) were less fluctuating during the export from Korea to Japan, compared to those in the spring (8.6°C, 29.3%, 8.1 mb) or summer (15.4°C, 78.4%, 4.4 mb). After export, the Korean cut lily flowers' longevity was best in the winter season, with less flowering-during-transport (FDT) phenomenon, which causes a deterioration of the flower quality. Also, wet transport using a preservative has significantly improved the quality-reduction problems during transport, including the FDT phenomenon compared to customary dry transport.