Effect of different floral preservative solutions on vase life of few chrysanthemum spray cultivars

Five spray type cultivars of Chrysanthemum viz. Kanchil, Shyamal, Flirt, Ravikiran and Kargil were chosen for carrying out post harvest studies. Different floral preservative treatments consisted of citric acid, aluminium sulphate, sucrose and their combination were used. All the chemical treatments significantly increased the vase life over control (distilled water). Amongst the cultivars, maximum percentage of floret opening (97.85) was recorded in cv. Kargil. Minimum weight loss (10.92%) was observed in cv. Kanchil. Maximum vase life (27.03 days) and volume of solution consumed (55.85 ml) was observed in cv. Shyamal while maximum flower diameter (6.99 cm) was recorded in cv. Ravikiran.