Effect of Different Pre-harvest Conditions on the Post-harvest Keeping

Abstract

Abstract<br><br>The horticultural product marketability is strongly affected by quality loss<br><br>during the post-harvest chain. Production of floricultural plants in greenhouses is<br><br>possible by controlling several growth conditions such as air temperature, air<br><br>humidity, light intensity and quality, plant density and nutrition. According to the<br><br>growth strategy many combinations of these conditions are possible. The initial state<br><br>at the harvest time depends on pre-harvest condition. The aim of the present study<br><br>was the measurement of the effects of different pre-harvest conditions on postharvest<br><br>behavior of cut gerbera. Two cultivars of gerbera were grown at different<br><br>air temperatures (20, 24 and 28°C) with two light regimes (natural and<br><br>supplementary lighting) and then subjected to same post-harvest condition. Vase life<br><br>and bending incidence of cut scapes of two gerbera cultivars “Red explosion” and<br><br>“Fiction” were determined during storage at 25°C. We observed that low and high<br><br>air temperature negatively affected keeping quality. In addition, supplementary<br><br>lighting during stem elongation may intensify this trend in some treatments.