Improvement of the vase life of cut gladiolus flowers by salicylic acid and Putrescine

The effects of salicylic acid (SA) and Putrescine (Put), on cut Gladiolus was studied. SA (0, 150, 300 and 450 mg l-1) and Put (0, 100, 200 and 300 mg l-1), their combinations were tested as preservative mixture. This study was conducted in a factorial experiment with complete randomized design on 192 Gladiolus cut flowers in horticulture laboratory of agriculture faculty of Islamic Azad University, jiroft branch. The recorded traits included Vase life, Flower Diameter, SPAD, flower diameter, flower petal wilting, percent of floret blossoming, total soluble solids (TSS) and Solution uptake. the results shown effect of different levels of PUT (p < 0.01) and interaction of PUT×SA (p < 0.05) on flower diameter. Mean comparison indicated that increased level of PUT and the concentration of 300 mg l-1 of this polyamine result in increase of flower diameter. Increasing salicylic acid concentration up to 300 mg/l-1 had positive and significant effect on soluble solids but application of concentrations above 450 mg/l-1 reduced soluble solids level. Water uptake in the absence and presence of 100 mg/l-1 PUT was 168.4 ml and 170.2 ml respectively which is not significant but was elevated to 184.4 ml when PUT concentration was increased to 300 mg l-1.