Chrysanthemum ranks third in terms of production. Generally flowers are packed in paper or cardboard while transporting to market. An experiment was carried to study the efficacy of different packaging materials at 4°C on keeping quality of chrysanthemum cv "Reagan White". Treatments used were: Control (open flowers) (T1); (LDPE 200μ (T2), LDPE 100μ (T3), Polypropylene (T4), Polyethylene (T5), Microperforated film (T6), and Cellophane (T7). Among different treatments, flowers packed in LDPE 200μ (T2) had maximum vase life followed by LDPE 100μ (T3) treatment with delayed senescence. There was significant reduction in SOD and CAT activities, and leakage of anthocyanin content in flowers wrapped in LDPE 200μ. Aesthetic look of cut flowers in terms of turgidity, freshness and keeping quality was also better in T2 treatment.
Chrysanthemum, packaging material, vase life
