Effects of Preservative Solutions on Shelf Life and Quality of Cut Gypsophila Flowers, Ethiopia

Extending the vase life of cut flowers is one of the serious problems of the floriculture industry in the study area. To this purpose, different types of preservatives have been used to prolong the shelf life of cut flowers. Therefore, the present experiment was initiated to identify a suitable pulsing preservative to prolong the vase life of Gypsophila at TAL Flower Farms PLC, Bahir Dar Zuria District, Ethiopia. The design was completely randomized and was replicated three times. The treatments included three varieties of Gypsophila (overtime, magnet, and Blancanieves) and five preservative solutions (Aluminium Sulphate, TOG-3, Silver thiosulphate, sugar, and distilled water). Data on solution uptake, water loss, fresh weight, flower opening percentage, vase life, and thickness were collected, and analyzed by SAS software. Both the variety of Gypsophila and pulsing preservatives and their interactions affected most of the parameters tested in the study. Pulsing Gypsophila flowers with silver thiosulphate recorded the best results in all parameters except flower stem thickness. On the other hand, the Magnet variety, followed by overtime, had the longest vase life and quality. The magnet variety pulsed with silver thiosulphate preservative recorded the highest solution uptake, water loss through transpiration, flower fresh weight, flower opening percentage, and maximum vase life day. Therefore, silver thiosulphate preservative can be used to prolong the vase life of Gypsophila flowers, where a combination of Silver Thiosulphate and magnet varieties of Gypsophila recorded the highest vase life.