ISSN 2756-3790
International Journal of Horticulture and Floriculture ISSN 2167-0455 Vol. 3 (4), pp. 179-207, November, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Effect of Jatropha curcas, Psidium guajava and Andrographis paniculata leaf extracts on postharvest performance of cut Mokara red orchid flowers
Md. Muklesur Rahman1, 2*, Siti Hajar Ahmad2, Mahmud Tengku Muda Mohamed2 and Sayed Mohamed Zain Bin S. Hasan1
1Department of Post-Harvest Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia.
2Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 9 October, 2015
Abstract
The effect and optimum concentration of Jatropha curcas, Psidium guajava and Andrographis paniculata single leaf extract (SLE) and double combination leaf extracts (DCLE) on postharvest performance of cut Mokara Red orchid flowers was studied. The 15 mg/L DCLE of P. guajava and A. paniculata containing floral preservative solutions had the stable pH (initial pH 3.0) compared to the pH of SLE floral preservative solutions, resulting in extended vase life of the cut flowers. Moreover, flowers in the above preservative solutionstreated flowers retained better petal colour than the colour in the other treated flowers. Thus, 15 mg/L DCLE-Pg+Ap was used in subsequent experiments to evaluate the long vase life of cut flowers based on higher rates of preservative solutions uptake. The all-preservative solutions contained two groups of bacteriaand three fungi. The 15 mg/L DCLE-Pg+Ap had lower bacterial populations compared to the 15 mg/L DCLE-Jc+Ap, except in fungal growth. Therefore, DCLE-Pg+Ap had the potential as a natural preservative solutions to extend the 3 days more vase life of orchid flowers compared to the control containing 8-HQC (8-hydroxyquinoline citrate). Future research needs to examine which microbes are responsible for xylem blockage and their effects on the postharvest performance of cut flowers.
Key words: Double combination leaf extracts, floral preservative solutions, microorganism, petal colour, single leaf extract, vase life.