Extension of the vase life of cut sunflower by different vase solutions

Abstract

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) as a cut flower has been an increasing demand in floral industry. However, its vase life is limited because of scape bending, abscission and early wilting of ray flowers. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different vase solutions on the vase life of cut sunflower 'Sunrich Orange'. 'Sunrich Orange' was chosen because it is widely used in cut flower industry. Seven treatments were tested: with distilled water (control) as vase solution. The vase life, relative fresh weight, daily and total solution uptake were measured. The results showed that vase life of 'Sunrich Orange' sunflower was significantly affected by different vase solutions. The longest vase life was obtained from the STS (12.3 ± 0.3 days) which increased the vase life by 38.1% compared to the control (8.9 ± 0.5 days).