Cut roses often have a short vase life due to water stress and ethylene damage under unfavorable postharvest conditions. In this study, we investigated the effect of various pretreatment solutions on the vase life and postharvest quality of the cut rose cultivar ‘Jinny’ (Rosa hybrida L.). Cut roses were pretreated with eight different preservative solutions for 10 hours: aluminum sulfate (AS), Chrysal (CHR), FloraLife (FLR), lysosome (LYS), MS-1 (MS1), MS-2 (MS2), silver n itrate ( SN), a nd s ilver t hiosulfate ( STS). We found that pretreatment with all solutions except LYS prolonged the vase life and improved the postharvest quality of the cut roses. Among these, STS was the most effective pretreatment solution, significantly extending the vase life from 11.8 days (control) to 19.9 days, retaining the initial fresh weight and a positive water balance for longer, and inhibiting microbial growth in the vase. STS also enhanced the water uptake rate, and maintained the high chlorophyll and soluble sucrose contents in the leaves of the cut rose flowers. In addition, we found that MS1 and MS2, which are natural plant extracts, had strong antimicrobial effects and consequently prolonged the vase life of cut roses by more than 4 days compared with the control. Therefore, MS1 and MS2 can be considered as alternative preservatives in the cut flower industry.

• Suong Tuyet Thi Ha(Department of Bioindustry and Bioresource Engineering, Sejong University)
• Hyung-Won Choi(Department of Bioindustry and Bioresource Engineering, Sejong University)
• Byung-Chun In(Department of Horticulture and Breeding, Andong National University)
• Yeon-Ok Jung(BiBiFlora, 213-11, Teoneokgol-ro, Paltan-myeon, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do 18531, Korea)
• Jin-Hee Lim(Department of Bioindustry and Bioresource Engineering, Sejong University) Corresponding author