Vase life of roses, gerberas and chrysanthemums commercialized in Pelotas-RS

Abstract

Cut flowers are one of the most important floricultural products and one of the features that define its quality is vase life. Thus, longer vase life will be achieved when production sites are closer to the consumer market. Based on the above, this experiment compared vase life of rose, gerbera and chrysanthemums supplied by Pelotas’s local growers and by São Paulo’s wholesalers. For each treatment (origin), 20 stems of each species were evaluated. Randomized block design were used with five repetitions of four stems per block and vase life assessment performed every three days during 15 days. Vase life was higher for roses and gerberas produced in Pelotas, average of 9 and 7 days, respectively. No significant difference was observed to chrysanthemum vase life, average were 12 days for both flower origins. The results indicate that the distance between the production sites and the consumer market influences the quality and vase life of roses and gerberas marketed in Pelotas.