Longevity of Gladiolus Spikes Stored in Polypropylene and Low Density Polyethylene Sleeves

By : Harsimran Kaur , Kushal Singh

Page No: 221-228

Abstract
Spikes of four cultivars of Gladiolus viz. Jacksonville Gold, Sancerre, Nova Lux and White Prosperity were subjected to modified atmosphere (MA) storage in polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) film sleeves. The harvested spikes of all the cultivars were stored for 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 days respectively at 4±0.5OC and 90-95 % R.H. Among the cultivars, Jacksonville Gold showed maximum longevity in both freshly harvested and MA stored spikes. It also exhibited highest number of open florets at any given time, its tepals showed maximum membrane stability index and the spikes absorbed maximum volume of water. Between the packages, for all the cultivars spikes stored in PP packages showed higher longevity than those in LDPE sleeves. This was because PP packages retained significantly higher percentage of CO2 than the LDPE packages. However, a bigger floret size was observed in spikes stored in LDPE sleeves. PP sleeves contributed to longevity while LDPE sleeves contributed to floret size.

Authors :
Harsimran Kaur and Kushal Singh : Department of Botany1 ; Department of Floriculture and Landscaping2, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana – 141004, India