Preservative solutions and pulsing on Zingiber spectabile postharvest

Abstract

Postharvest aspects of tropical flowers are still relatively unknown, and there is no methodology for this stage of the production process. So, this study aimed at evaluating the effect of preservative solutions and sucrose on the postharvest preservation of Zingiber spectabile Griff. Floral stems of approximately 40.0 cm, with turgid bracts and characteristic color, were harvested and submitted to a cleaning process, in a laboratory of the Universidade Federal de Lavras, in Lavras, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, in 2010. Afterwards, they were transferred to plastic bottles containing 1.0 L of solutions which corresponded to different treatments: pure water (control), commercial Crystal Clear^® preservative (7.5 mL L^-1), calcium hypochlorite (5%), commercial Florissant^® preservative (1 tablet L^-1) and pulsing with Hydraflor-100^® (16.0 mL L^-1) and with a sucrose solution (10%). The experimental design was completely randomized, with six treatments and four replications, with three inflorescences per replication (plot). The treatments were randomly distributed in a room with temperature of 18ºC and relative humidity of 70%. The visual quality was evaluated according to a scale, with the absorbed volume and dry weight of floral stems being daily measured. Pulsing with Hydraflor-100^® provided the highest weight for floral stems and the best commercialization time for Zingiber spectabile.