Flowers are still constantly changing after harvest. Among them, some changes are beneficial, and some changes are unfavorable. But from the perspective of sellers and consumers, most of the changes are unfavorable. Although we cannot prevent this physiological change from happening, we can mitigate these changes to some extent. Here are some of the reasons that affect the decline of fresh cut flowers.
Ethylene: The degree of ethylene damage to fresh cut flowers depends on the concentration of ethylene in the surrounding gas. A small amount of ethylene can induce and promote the rapid generation of large amounts of ethylene in the cut flowers, causing premature wilting of cut flowers. Such as fresh cut flowers by mechanical damage, disease invasion, temperature (> 30 °C) and dehydration, will make their own ethylene production to speed up, cut flowers aging. Reducing the concentration of ethylene in the environment includes preventing ethylene contamination, removing produced ethylene, and inhibiting cut flowers from producing ethylene. Preventing ethylene from harming fresh cut flowers is the key to keep flowers fresh.
Breathing: Cut flowers During breathing, plant organs absorb oxygen and emit carbon dioxide. The large amount of heat of respiration released by this process generates high temperatures in the surrounding environment, which accelerates the rate of physiological action in the plant and causes the plant to decay and die. Most cold-sensitive cut flowers are at optimum storage temperatures (approaching °C), and with every 10 °C increase, the cut flower's spoilage increases by 2 to 3 times. All cut flower development and senescence are controlled by temperature, and the cut flower's ambient temperature is too high, which will accelerate the cut flower respiration and the consumption of carbohydrates in the tissues and stimulate the production of its own harmful gas (ethylene). Infect bacteria and accelerate the aging of fresh cut flowers.
Water scarcity: Cut flowers lose water after harvest, and transpiration still occurs. At this point, the air enters the incision and plugs the catheter, severely affecting the water absorption capacity of the cut flower and causing the water to be misregulated. Most fresh cut flowers have a large specific surface area and are extremely sensitive to dehydration. The occurrence of early dehydration and adversity has created a vicious circle in the fresh cut flowers. The loss of water after harvesting also depends on the difference in water vapor pressure between the cut flower and the surrounding air, which in turn is affected by temperature and humidity. At a certain temperature and air flow rate, moisture loss decreases with increasing relative humidity. Therefore, controlling relative humidity can slow the dehydration of cut flowers.
Diseases: Bacteria, fungi cause corruption and pathological collapse is one of the reasons for cut flowers. Disease invasion often occurs after cut flowers (such as harvest) causing mechanical damage or physiological disorders (such as frostbite, cold injury, heat damage). In some cases, pathogenic bacteria can also infect healthy tissues, leading to spoilage of cut flowers. Cut flowers are more likely to be attacked by germs during maturation and aging. Adversity (such as water shortages, physical damage, overcooling, overheating, etc.) can reduce the disease resistance of cut flowers. The infected tissues are prone to losing water and produce more ethylene, making fresh cut flowers die faster and die faster.
Mechanical damage: Fresh cut flowers are collected from the hands of consumers. Because many links are involved, many times of stacking, friction, and extrusion cause scratches and breakage of branches; flowers and leaves are damaged. Mechanical damage is unavoidable.
After the harvest of flowers, chemical preservation should be carried out for the first time. The preservatives used for processing can be prepared or purchased with fresh-keeping agents (for post-harvest purposes) according to the cut flowers. Silver thiosulphate can also be used for treatment. Physical preservation can be performed if conditions allow. : Cooling in cold storage, air cooling, water cooling, etc.; Fresh-keeping of flowers after harvest generally takes 4 to 12 hours. During transportation, attention should also be paid to air circulation and the addition of ice cubes in the packaging box to reduce the temperature. At the same time, ethylene absorbers (for gangue absorption of potassium permanganate solution and packed with sapoon into small packets) are used to absorb the ethylene in the decomposing box.