Efficiency of Preservative Solutions on the Postharvest Life/Longevity of Lisianthus Flowers 'ABC'

Lisianthus, Eustoma grandiflorum (syn. E. russelianum), native to northern Mexico and the southern United States is commonly used as a cut flower in Brazil. The shelf life of the flowers can be prolonged by the use of preservative solutions. To evaluate the efficiency of different preservative solutions on the postharvest life/longevity this experiment was performed using lisianthus cultivar 'ABC'. Cut flowers with 5 buds and 2 open flowers were treated with 3% sucrose, 3% sucrose + 2% ethanol, 3% sucrose + 15% citric acid, Flower (R) (Ecoplanet, SC), and water. The stems were individualized in 200 ml flasks with different solutions provided in the pulsing form for a period of 24 h. The effect of different treatments was determined by the amount of water uptake, flower quality, stems fresh weight and the rate of flower opening as follows from the scale 0 = flower bud to 4 = open flowers. Results suggest that 3% sucrose solution was more effective in improving postharvest life of lisianthus cut flowers cultivar 'ABC'.