Effects of nano-silver treatment on vase life of cut rose cv. Movie Star flowers

Vase life of cut roses cv. Movie Star placed in deionized water was only 9 to 10 days regardless of the maturity at harvest. In the present study, the causes of short vase life for cut roses and the effects of treatments prolonging vase life were investigated in relation to water stress and bacterial contaminations. Flowers of cut rose cv. Movie Star were pulsed in nano-silver (NS) base solution for 24 h and then kept in a low concentration NS solution. Effects on vase life and the flower quality were evaluated by analyzing vase life, water uptake, water loss, changes in stomatal conductance and scanning electron microscopic observation of stem. The pulse treatment in 10 mg L -1 NS plus 5% sucrose solution for 24 h followed by holding samples in 0.5 mg L -1 NS plus 2% sucrose solution not only alleviated and delayed vascular blockage caused by bacterial contaminations but also inhibited stomatal conductance so that the water balance in cut roses was significantly improved and the vase life of the cut rose flowers was prolonged by 11.8 days.