Comparison of the application of postharvest treatment of ethanol to improve the longevity of cut flowers in two cultivars of gerbera

Gerbera is an important commercial cut flower that its vase life is usually short due to vascular occlusion. In this study, we assessed the effect of ethanol (2%) in prolonging the vase life, fresh weight, relative water uptake and some physiological and biochemical factors in the stem of two cultivars of gerbera cut flowers (‘Bayadère’ and ‘Sunway’). Ethanol extended the vase life of cut flowers of both cultivars as compared with their control and its effect was better on ‘Sunway’ than on ‘Bayadère’. Application of ethanol in vase solution decreased proline content in the stem of cut flowers of both cultivars, showing alleviation of water stress in ethanol-treated cut flowers. The use of ethanol in vase solution decreased polyphenol oxidase and increased phenylalanine ammonialyase activity, which was followed by increase in total phenols and flavonoids and finally was resulted in improved postharvest performance of ethanol-treated gerbera cultivars. In addition, we observed a decrease in malondialdehyde accumulation in the stem of ethanol-treated gerbera cultivars, which was associated with the better performance of antioxidant systems in these cut flowers because oxidative stress is one of the causes that reduce postharvest performance in cut flowers. Therefore, the application of ethanol is suggested as a cheap and environmentally friendly approach to improve postharvest performance of cut flowers.