Influence of floral preservative treatment on biochemical postharvest attributes in loose flower of tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) cv. Arka Prajwal

Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa Linn.) is one of the most important bulbous flowering plants which belongs to the family Agavaceae. It is being commercially cultivated for utilization in various forms of cut flowers, loose flower and extraction of essential oils for the perfumery industry. Its loose flowers retain their freshness only for 1-2 days under ordinary conditions. Hence, an experiment was conducted with an objective of finding out the response of floral preservative treatment, packings and storage conditions on biochemical postharvest attributes in loose flowers of Single petalled tuberose cv. Arka Prajwal. The present study revealed that the highest catalase activity was recorded in loose flowers of tuberose when treated with boric acid 4% and packed in muslin cloth bag on the second day under ambient conditions. Loose flowers treated with salicylic acid 50 ppm and packed in muslin cloth bag recorded the highest catalase activity on fourth day under cold storage condition. The highest guaiacol peroxidase activity was obtained in loose flowers treated with salicylic acid 50 ppm and packed in muslin cloth bag on fourth day under cold storage condition. The highest superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was reported in flowers treated with boric acid 4% and packed in muslin cloth bag on third day and fourth day under ambient and cold storage condition, respectively. Studied all biochemical postharvest attributes namely, catalase activity, guaiacol peroxidase activity and superoxide dismutase activity found to increase with increase in storage duration and decreased at the end of flowers useful life.