Scientific Papers Series B Horticulture

Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture. Vol. LVII, 2013Print ISSN 2285-5653, CD-ROM ISSN 2285-5661, Online ISSN 2286-1580, ISSN-L 2285-5653STUDY OF APPLYING DIFFERENT TREATMENTS ON CUT HYDRANGEAAND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE SHELF LIFESzidónia KOSZEGHISapientia University Department of Horticulture, 1/C, Calea Sighioarei, 540485, Târgu Mure,RomaniaAbstractCorresponding author email: szidoo@yahoo.comFlowers have an important role in our lives. They have been part of our celebrations since the beginning of time. Beingassociated to many occasions and events, they express a range of feelings and atmosphere. Flowers give us joy, they fillus with a sense of peace and purity, and in time of sorrow they bring comfort and relief. Their beauty can light up ourdarkest days. Our ancestors used flowers as the symbol of fertility and renewal. Flowers can be given as a gift almostany time and to anyone. Most people, women in particular, have a special talent in choosing flowers and offering themas a gift. In any culture or civilization flowers have always been a comforting presence for mankind. Objectives: Thepurpose of my thesis is the prolongation of the lifespan of the cut Hydrangea. During our experiment we’ll analyze theeffect of some Hungarian and Dutch floral preservatives on the Hydrangeas. The results will then be compared, whilemonitoring the life processes of the flowers in question.Key words: cut flowers, Hydrangea, vase life, Bioplant, Chrysal, Oasis.INTRODUCTIONsurface tension reducing substances (increaseswater absorption) (Schmidt, 2001).The lifespan of the cut flowers is a geneticThe proper nutrient for cut flowers contains theendowment, a feature specific to the speciesfollowing: water softener, pH regulator, water(Horváth, 2001). Scientific knowledge offersabsorption increaser, nutrient (The Beauty ofthe possibility to prolong the lifespan of the cutChrysal, 2009).flower. We can assure the undisturbed lifeDifferent bacteria and fungi can quickly spreadprocess of the cut flower by means of floralin the water of cut flowers. The greatestpreservatives and salts (Klincsek, 1990).damage caused by them is the clogging of theBasically any preservative should have thewood tissue, but they also present other riskfollowing ingredients: nutrients (proteins,factors such as the production of toxins andmainly simple sugars), disinfectants againstethylene. Most disinfectant products on themicro-organisms, growth regulator substances,market contain 8-hydroxy (8-HQ) or its salts.surface tension reducing substances (increasesSilver salts have also a bactericidal effect.water absorption) (Schmidt, 2001).The features of silver thiosulphate (STS) areThe organic materials thus produced during themore favorable: it successfully prevents thetransformation – assimilation-in the leaf, areformation of ethylene and its bactericidal effectpartly used for the plant structure, another partoperates within the tissues. Of all theis dissolved during breathing and internal compounds, the most often used in floralenergy producing, then eliminated (as water, preservatives are organic acids (citric acid,oxygen, carbon-dioxide, ethylene, etc.), or ascorbic acid, tartaric acid). Citric acid reducesstored. From our point of view the stored the pH of water, improves water absorption andorganic materials are the most important(Szabó and Hegyi, 2005).Basically any preservative should have thereduce, the risk of clogging of wood tissue.Floral preservatives contain mineral salts, oftenin the form of KCl, NaCl, Ca (NO 3 ) 2 . Na andfollowing ingredients: nutrients (proteins, Cl have toxic effects on cells, therefore we usemainly simple sugars), disinfectants againstmicro-organisms, growth regulator substances,them only in low concentrations. Various metalsalts (Mg, Cu, Al) significantly improve cutflower longevity. The simplest preservative is a339