Effect of Absorbent Granules Coated by Potassium Permanganate on Postharvest Quality of Rose (Rosa hybrida) Cultivars

Enrichment of zeolite and sponge as ethylene absorbent with potassium permanganate was the idea of this study to provide an efficient way to scavenge ethylene during storage period of three Rosa hybrida cv. ‘Shiraz’, ‘Avalanche’, and ‘After-party’ cut flowers. A preliminary experiment revealed that two mL of potassium permanganate solution (1 mM) was enough to enrich two grams of zeolite and two cm3 of sponge. Additionally, one μL L-1 of external ethylene also found to be effective on induction of quality damage to certain cut flowers of rose cultivars, which were selected for injection in each isolated container for further evaluations. The treatments used in this study included control (without absorbent), enriched zeolite or sponge, enriched zeolite or sponge + ethylene (one μL L-1). The quality of flowers, weight, number of dropped petals, electrical conductivity of vase solution, ethylene concentration in the container and petal anthocyanins evaluated through/the end of experiment. Results revealed that change or reduction in the quality parameters were minor (more maintenance or stability of quality was achieved) with enriched zeolite and then enriched sponge compared to the control. Enriched zeolite could even maintain the quality of cut flowers at the level of control under external ethylene injection superior to enriched sponge treatment. ‘Avalanche’ and ‘Shiraz’ cultivars figured as the most sensitive and resistant cultivars to the evaluated level of external ethylene concentration, respectively.