Postharvest life of cut chrysanthemum flowers as affected by citric acid, boric acid and salicylic acid

Chrysanthemum is one of the most commercialized cut flowers on world market. After cutting, it becomes highly perishable due to the increased metabolic activity that leads to senescence. Thus, the experiment was carried out in order to evaluate action of maintenance solutions on the postharvest physiology cutting chrysanthemums of the cultivar Framint. A completely randomized design was used in the factorial scheme composed of two factors: four postharvest treatments and seven evaluation times. The flowers remained in the following maintenance solutions: citric acid solution, solution with boric acid, and salicylic acid solution at concentrations 100 mg. L-1 for both treatments in combination with 1% ethanol. During postharvest period, following analyzes were performed: fresh mass loss, volume of water absorbed, luminosity (petals), activity of the enzymes ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total protein and total carbohydrate content. The treatment with citric acid + ethanol was the most adequate to conserve the quality and to prolong longevity of the flowers, being confirmed by the smaller loss of fresh mass, respiratory activity, better maintenance of carbohydrate and protein content