Improvement in Postharvest Quality of Cut Spray Roses ‘Hessa’ ( Rosa hybrida L.) by Pretreatment with Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi Extract

We examined the efficacy of various pretreatment solutions on the postharvest longevity and quality of ‘Hessa’ cut spray roses (Rosa hybrida L.) to develop an inexpensive and innocuous preservative solution for the cut flower industry. Cut flowers were pretreated with 4 preservatives for 10 hours: Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi extract (SC) at 300 μL·L-1, hydrosol (H), S. baicalensis Georgi extract 300 μL·L-1 + sucrose 1% (SC + Suc), and H + sucrose 1% (H + Suc). The results showed that pretreatment with all the solutions except H + Suc improved the postharvest longevity and extended the longevity of cut rose flowers. We found that 300 μL·L-1 of SC was the most effective preservative, which significantly prolonged the postharvest longevity in cut flowers from 9.7 days (control) to 14.1 days. The beneficial effects of 300 μL·L-1 SC pretreatment were associated with inhibition of bacterial accumulation at the basal portion of cut stems, enhanced water uptake, improved fresh weight, and a positive water balance. SC also effectively maintained chlorophyll fluorescence ratios in the leaves and reduced water stress in cut roses. The results demonstrate the potential of SC as an alternative preservative in the cut rose flower industry.