Treatment with Essential Oils Extends the Vase Life of Cut Flowers of Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum)

Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum cv. ‘Mriachii Blue’) is one of the most important and marketable cut flowers in the world. However, a relatively limited vase life reduces its marketability. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of essential oils in extending vase life of cut flowers of Lisianthus. For this purpose a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with Zataria multiflora and Echinophora platyloba essential oils at (0, 100, 200 ppm) with 3 replications, was conducted. The results showed that addition of essential oils to vase solutions increased vase life, petal water content, leaf relative water content and SPAD value, significantly. The highest vase life (14.5 days) was observed in the vase solution containing 200 ppm E. platyloba plus 100 ppm Z. multiflora essential oils with 95% increase as compared to the control. All essential oil treatments resulted in higher relative fresh weight as compared to the control; however the highest relative fresh weight was observed in cut flowers treated with E. platyloba essential oil at 200 ppm with 54% increase over the control. It can be safely concluded that essential oils as natural, safe and biodegradable compounds are suitable alternatives to conventional chemical treatments in order to prolong vase life of cut flowers of Lisianthus.