Vol. 11, Special Issue 7 (2022)

Author(s):
Kancharla Sunny, M Ganga, M Visalakshi and M Suganthy

Abstract:
An experiment was conducted at Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore to examine the impact of post-harvest treatments to improve the shelf life of Jasminum auriculatum ecotype Pacha Mullai. Six treatments replicated four times in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with two storage conditions namely room temperature and refrigeration, two floral preservatives namely Sucrose and Boric Acid along with an untreated control. Observations were recorded on the flower visual quality parameters and the physiological parameters associated with the postharvest quality of flowers. According to the study, flower buds treated with 4 percent boric acid and kept in a refrigerator at 5 °C had a much longer shelf life of 177.85 hours (T₆), (against 64.97 hrs in untreated control, T₁). This treatment also proved to be superior to the other postharvest parameters viz., highest freshness index (82.52%), fragrance score (3), colour retention index (83.97%), moisture content (46.97%), relative water content (53.09%), lowest flower opening index (8.09%), physiological weight loss (4.64%), solute leakage (77.48%), highest membrane integrity and total carbohydrate content (56.59 percent) on the sixth day after packing.