Postharvest characteristics of Santonia 'Golden Lights' a new hybrid cut flower from Sandersonia aurantiaca x Littonia modesta

Santonia 'Golden Lights' is a new cut flower crop developed in New Zealand by hybridising Sandersonia aurantiaca with Littonia modesta. Vegetatively p ropagated tubers give rise to flowering stems that carry up to 30 individua l orange trumpet-shaped flowers attached to a single leafy stem, The flower ing stems can be harvested at a relatively immature stage (2-3 flowers oran ge) and have a vase life of ca. 10 days in water. There was no advantage ga ined by the addition of sucrose to vase solutions and continuous treatment with 2% sucrose or pulsing for 24 h with 10% sucrose caused leaf damage. Th e addition of cytokinin or gibberellic acid to vase solutions prevented lea f chlorosis, which was the major postharvest disorder encountered in these trials, Santonia is sensitive to fluoride and levels as low as 0.5 ppm caus e leaf tip necrosis. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.