Study on Effects of Ascorbic Acid and Citric Acid on Vase Life of Cut Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) ‘Mariachi Blue’

The postharvest life of cut Eustoma grandiflorum flowers is limited in open flowers. Therefore a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with ascorbic acid (AsA) at 4 levels (0, 100, 200, 300 mg L-1) and citric acid (CA) at 3 levels (0, 100, 200 mg L-1) with 3 replications and 3 samples for each replications, was conducted for this purpose. Results indicated that a significant increase with applying ascorbic and citric acid nearly in all traits both individually and in combination, with higher concentrations imposing greater effects (p?0.05 and p?0.01). The highest vase life (17.6 days) and petal water content (68.9%) was observed for the interaction of ascorbic acid (300 mg L-1) and citric acid (100 mg L-1) and ascorbic acid (300 mg L-1) and citric acid (200 mg L-1), respectively, which shows a 94 and 252% increase compared to control (9.1 days and 27.3%). Along with this, relative water content and petal water content raised with AsA and CA increase. Water content also showed a similar manner. Fresh weight decreased in all treatments during experiment, but this reduction was much less in AsA (300 mg L-1) alone and in interactions with CA levels. According to the results of this experiment, ascorbic acid and/or citric acid as cheap, safe and biodegradable compounds are suitable alternatives for chemical treatments in order to prolong vase life of cut flowers of Eustoma. Commercialization of these compounds for optimum formulations needs further experiments.