Longevidade e qualidade pós-colheita de alstroeméria

Abstract

Alstroemeria is the second most commercially traded cut flower in Brazil. After cutting, the physiological and metabolic processes of the stems are affected, accelerating the senescence of the stems. The use of preservative solutions aims to increase longevity and maintain the quality of the floral stems. Despite several research studies with different preservatives, producers and consumers still have doubts about the best preservative to increase the longevity of alstroemeria and, above all, to prevent premature yellowing of the leaves. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the post-harvest longevity and quality of floral stems of alstroemeria cv. Akemi, kept in water from two different sources: natural water and treated water, evaluating commonly recommended floral preservatives for this species: Florissant with chlorine, 1-methylcyclopropene, benzyladenine, cycloheximide, silver thiosulfate, salicylic acid, spermine, silver nanoparticles, calcium chloride, gibberellin, Florissant, Crystal, in addition to a control treatment (water). The effect of chlorine alone was also tested, using the concentrations 0 (control), 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 mg L-¹. In order to assess the solution's quality, microbial population, solution pH, and visual quality of the stems were evaluated by three assessors using a rating scale, in addition to water consumption by the stems and chlorophyll content. The microbial population increased over time after harvesting, and Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus were identified. It was observed that water quality influenced the longevity of alstroemeria floral stems and its association with the preservative. The most suitable post-harvest conservation solution was prepared using well water with silver thiosulfate, providing a durability of 24 days, followed by Florissant or gibberellin, providing a durability of 23 days. When treated water was used, the most suitable solutions were prepared with benzyladenine, gibberellin, Florissant, Crystal, or Florissant with chlorine. The durability was 15 days. It was observed that the post-harvest durability using chlorine as a preservative solution at a concentration of 1.0 mg L-¹ was 14 days. Preservative solutions containing benzyladenine, Florissant, and gibberellin were able to delay the yellowing of alstroemeria leaves.