Yield, quality and longevity of stems of Photinia fraseri

Abstract

The greens understand cutting the shoots of the plant without the flower, but with ornamental feature to the composition of arrangements. In Sierra of Santa Catarina a species that has emerged is the Photinia fraseri, known by the common name of fotinia, which features distinctive color of its leaves. The aim of this study was to assess the yield of stems and durability of this species in solutions containing sucrose and temperature. Were collected during two periods, 10 stems in each of the cutting heights (10, 30 and 50cm), classified by size, (CL1) greater than or equal to 60cm, (CL2) and between 60 and 45cm (CL3) less than 45cm and quantified. To test the durability stems greater than 60cm were subjected to aqueous solutions of 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% sucrose for 24h at two temperatures and evaluated according to the stage of senescence (I, or II). The largest increase in number of stems at harvest was held in march in relation to november. The stems are longer, obtained after the long period of growth, harvest months of march and let the merchant handle best to use them in floral arrangements. This species has great potential in post-harvest, since the longevity of the stems with maintaining your ornamental quality is far superior to most plants grown as cut foliage.