Evaluation of the Effects of 1-MCP (1-Methylcyclopropene) on Morphophysiological Indexes and Display Life of Primula sinensis L.

The effects of 1-MCP on some morphophysiological traits and display life of primrose were investigated in a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design composed of two factors including 1-MCP at six levels (0, 50, 75, 100, 150, and 200 nl l-1) applied in three periods (18, 21, and 24 hours) in three replications, amounting to 54 experimental plots and 270 primrose plants. The experiment was conducted in the post-harvest room of the Faculty of Agriculture, Islamic Azad University, Rasht Branch with an ambient temperature of 20 ± 2°C, relative humidity of 60 to 70%, a light intensity of 15 to 20 μmol s-1 m-2, and a day length of 12 hours. In this study, ethylene production, dry matter percentage, display life of primrose, protein content in the petals, chlorophyll a and b indices, total chlorophyll, and the ratio of open florets to closed florets were measured. The results of the analysis of variance showed that the effect of duration was significant only on ethylene production and the amount of petal protein, but the concentration of 1- MCP was significant on all traits except for the display life. The interactive effect of duration and concentration of 1-MCP was statistically significant on the display life at the 5% level so that the T3C5 treatment (24 hours + 150 nl l-1 1-MCP) increased the display life by 1.2 days compared to the control.