Wet and dry storage of cut roses

Abstract

Rosa sp. is the leading cut flower commercialized in Brazil and in the world; and to maintain stem quality it should be stored at 1 °C, however, there are still doubts about the storage of roses, especially whether the stems should be cold stored in water before marketing. In order to assess the feasibility of wet and dry storage, rose stems, ‘Avalanche’ were stored for 28 days in both conditions at 1 ± 2 °C / 95% RH. Weekly stems batches were transferred to 25 °C / 70% RH and kept in vessels containing tap water for postharvest assessment. It was observed that the decrease in the quality of the roses was inversely proportional to the storage time in both treatments. Although wet storage can occur for up to 21 days, when you need to store roses for a week or two, cold storage in dry condition is advised since it is more economical and viable for the producer.