Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641003, Tamil Nadu e-mal: jawaharflori@yahoo.com
An investigation was carried out to find out the physiological changes associated with petal shedding in two cultivars of rose viz., Edouard rose(Rosa bourboniana Desp.) and Red rose (Rosa centifolia L.) and to compare their petal retention nature. The influence of certain pre-harvest sprays on petal retention and the physiological parameters changes was also studied. The results showed that none of the pre-harvest treatments were significant in improving the petal retention in the cultivars, while the cv. Red rose exhibited significant petal retention (20.33 h) when compared with Edouard rose (10.57 h). The physiological parameters such as moisture loss, relative water content, membrane integrity, starch content and soluble protein content occurred at varied rates in these two cultivars.
Edouard rose, petal retention, physiological parameters, Red rose
