Investigating the growth control of bacteria in the stem of rose cut flowers

Given the economic importance of the lifespan of cut flowers, this experiment investigated the effects of silver nanoparticles, silver thiosulfate, hydroxyquinoline, and a natural substance including thymol on the post-harvest lifespan and bacterial counts of rose cultivar ’Dolce vita’‘.‘ The cut flowers were transferred to a laboratory at a temperature of 1 ± 22 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 5± 60 percent. Cut flowers were treated with short-term solutions of silver nanoparticles (SNP) at concentrations of (2.5, 5, and 10 mg/L), silver thiosulfate (STS) (0.5, 1, and 2 mM), 8-hydroxy quinoline sulfate (HQS) (50, 100, and 200 mg/L), and thymol essential oil (50, 100, and 200 mg/L) containing 5% sucrose. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with 8 replications, each replication containing one flower. According to the results, all treatments had a positive effect on the lifespan of flowers and the reduction of the number of stem bacteria, so that no bacteria were found in the silver nanoparticles treatments with concentrations of 5 and 10 mg/L. The highest average lifespan (19 days) was obtained in the 5 and 10 mg/L silver nanoparticles treatment. Considering the results and the economic and practical aspects of the tested materials, the silver nanoparticles treatment can be used to increase the lifespan of the rose vase of the Dels Vita variety.