The Effects of Thymol, Menthol and Eugenol on Quality and Vase-life of Chrysanthemum Cut Flowers

Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum) is one of the most important ornamental plants used as cut flower, flowering pot plant and groundcover worldwide. In this research, the effects of preservative solutions containing thymol (75 and 125 mg L^-1), menthol (75 and 125 mg L^-1) and eugenol (75 and 125 mg L^-1) on the quality and vaselife of chrysanthemum cut flowers at 3±1ºC and 75-80% RH were evaluated. 4% Sucrose was added to all solutions and distilled water+4% Sucrose was considered as the control treatment. The highest vase-life (59.58 days) was obtained by thymol 125 mg L^-1, followed by thymol 75 mg L^-1 (59.17 days), compared to the control (31.08 days). Compared to the control and other treatments, thymol (75 and 125 mg L^-1) decreased petal wilting and increased preservative solution uptake, flower relative weight, flower TSS, leaf membrane stability, flower diameter and vase-life. Thus, thymol is suggested as the best treatment.