Extending Shelf-life of Different Cut-flowers under Cold Room Conditions

Uniform and healthy Rose cv. ‘Dutch'; Gerbera cv. ‘Lexington'; Gladiolus cv. ‘Top Secrate'; Tuberose cv. ‘Bizet' and Carnation cv. ‘Liberty' were used for the study in September 2016. Cut flowers were harvested at 7.00 am at proper stage, transported within 1.30 hours by AC car to the Agricultural Research Laboratory of Ecofrost Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Pune and then immediately prepared for post-harvest treatment and storage. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of different storage conditions, i.e. room and cold storage conditions (10°C + 93 % RH) on the longevity of the cut flowers. The two treatments viz., holding flowers at room temperature (RT) (T1) and at cold room conditions (T2), were replicated twice. The result showed that keeping cut-flowers at cold storage in a holding-solution of tap water recorded the maximum storage-life (days) compared to room conditions.