Influence of different pulsing treatments and durations on postharvest life of China aster (Callistephus chinensis (L.) Nees) cv. ‘Kamini’

Improvement of keeping quality and enhancement of the vase life of cut flowers are important areas of research in the post harvest sector of floriculture industry. The vase life of China aster is generally more than that of other annuals grown as cut flowers. Meagre and scattered information is available with respect to postharvest handling of China aster. Hence, the investigation was carried out to study the influence of different pulsing treatments and durations on postharvest life cut China aster cv. ‘Kamini ’. The experiment was laid out in Factorial Completely Randomized Design with 11 treatments and 2 durations replicated thrice. It was observed that pulsing of cut flowers with solution comprising of Sucrose (10%) + 8-HQC (400 ppm) for 12 hours improved flower size (7.21 cm), amount of pulsing solution consumed (2.54 ml), vase life (12.83 days), amount of distilled water consumed (35.09 ml), minimum per cent weight loss (21.73%) and appearance of cut bloom (4.73).