Ethylene and postharvest performance of potted kalanchoe

The postharvest life of different cultivars of kalanchoe plants (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana Poelln.) varied widely. The display life of plants of 'Nadia' was much longer than that of plants of 'Debbie' (10 weeks compared with 7 weeks). During display life, senescing flowers were replaced by opening bud s and the difference in display life was primarily a function of difference s in life of the individual flowers in the inflorescences (approximately 45 and 20 days, respectively, for 'Nadia' and 'Debbie'). Approximately 8 h af ter the start of exposure to ethylene, kalanchoe flowers started to inroll, reaching a minimum diameter after exposure for 24 h. The effects of ethyle ne were somewhat reversed by returning the plants to air within the first 2 4 h of exposure. Thereafter the flowers wilted and senesced irreversibly. E thylene sensitivity varied widely among cultivars; while flowers of 'Alexan dra' lost 57% of their diameter in response to 1 mu l l(-1) ethylene treatm ent, flowers of 'Debbie' lost only 2%. Flowers of the new 'African Queen' s eries were particularly sensitive to ethylene. There was no clear relations hip between ethylene sensitivity and postharvest life in the absence of eth ylene although 'Nadia' had the longest display life of all tested cultivars , 'Nadia' flowers showed a 35% diameter reduction in response to treatment with 1 mu l l(-1) ethylene for 24 h. Treatment with 1-methylcyclopropene (1 -MCP) had no effect on the normal life of kalanchoe plants, although 1-MCP has been shown to prevent the response of kalanchoe flowers to ethylene. (C ) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.