Postharvest dip in a natural lipid, lysophosphatidylethanolamine, may prolong vase life of snapdragon flowers

Abstract

We investigated the use of lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE) for prolonging vase life of snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus L.). Freshly cut snapdragon spikes were set into a LPE solution at 25 mg · L-1 for 24 h and then transferred to deionized water. The vase life was enhanced by LPE. The flowers on spikes treated with LPE showed symptoms of wilting or browning 4 or 6 days later than those on the spikes given deionized water in inbred or 'Potomac White', respectively. All the spikes were of marketable quality for 5 to 7 days after harvest when treated with LPE, whereas in the control only about half of the flowers were of marketable quality at 2 days after harvest. LPE treatment also delayed fresh mass loss, lowered endogenous ethylene production, and reduced ion leakage. These results suggest that LPE has commercial potentialin enhancing vase life of snapdragons.