Effect of 6-BAP and Sucrose Pulsing on Vase Life of Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)

Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) belonging to the family Nelumbonaceae has high demand, especially for religious purposes and floral decorations. Lotus is widely distributed in tanks in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. After harvesting, flowers are transported to various destinations. Lotus flowers have a short postharvest life because of senescence, wilting and petal falling. Improper handling, stress during transport, high respiration and transpiration rates could be the main reasons for the short postharvest life of lotus. Therefore, this study was mainly carried out to identify a mode of treatment to extend the vase life of lotus. To study the effect of 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BAP) and sucrose on keeping quality of lotus flowers, four levels of 6-BAP (0, 10, 15 and 20 ppm) and four levels of sucrose (0, 2, 4, and 8%) were tested at ambient temperature. The medium was acidified using 192 ppm citric acid in all treatments while deionized water was used as the control. To study the effect of pulsing, 2% sucrose solution was used to treat flowers for 0, 1, 2 and 4 h at ambient temperature. Pulsed flowers were placed in 15 ppm 6-BAP solution. Flower quality was evaluated daily based on percent weight loss, wilting, browning, fading, petal falling and flower opening indices. Parametric data were analyzed using ANOVA while non-parametric data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test. Results revealed that 15 ppm 6-BAP alone was effective in maintaining flower quality. Pulsing with 2% sucrose solution for 4 h further enhanced the flower quality up to 5 days when they were placed in 15 ppm 6-BAP after pulsing.

Key words: 6-Benzylaminopurine (6-BAP); Lotus; Nelumbo nucifera; Pulsing; Senescence.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/tar.v22i4.3791

TAR 2011; 22(4): 402-409