Postharvest physiology of cut flowers.
The longevity of the cut flowers are related to physiological
characteristics from the species or to environmental factors, temperature, relative humidity action of ethylene
and quality of the water in the vase. The disequilibrium between the water uptake and transpiration caused by
xylem obstruction diminishes the availability of water, causing wilting and increasing the ethylene production.
The flowers have different degrees of sensitivity to ethylene, in climacteric tropical flowers, a high production
of ethylene and increase of sensitivity to ethylene during the senescence. In some flowers, generally with low
production and sensitivity to ethylene, the supply of carbohydrates and the interaction with gibberellins and
cytokinins have important influence on the longevity. Pulsing treatment with sucrose may improve the longevity
of flowers, by favoring the bud opening and improving the vase life due to higher water uptake and by
providing carbohydrates for the respiration. In flowers sensitive to ethylene, the deleterious effects of the
ethylene can be blocked by the inhibitors 1-MCP or STS, shutdown the autocatalytic ethylene production and
extending the vase life, as observed in climacteric flowers, but also may improve the vase life of flowers with
low or insensitive to ethylene. The effect of cytokinins and gibberellins may improve the vase life of some
flowers, but the interaction of them with ethylene inhibitors, remain be evaluated in tropical flowers.