Hongwei Wang

Rapid wilting after harvest greatly decreases the ornamental and economic value of fresh-cut flowers. To determine how chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) affects postharvest flower quality, Paeonia lactiflora ‘Hushui Dangxia’ cut flowers in bottles were treated with different concentrations of ClO₂ (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg L⁻¹). Among the treatments, ClO₂ 75 (i.e., 75 mg L⁻¹) decreased the bacterial growth and lignin content at the P. lactiflora flower stem base, while also decreasing the degree of flower stem vessel blockage. Additionally, the ClO₂ 75 treatment increased the relative fresh weight, water balance, soluble sugar content, soluble protein content, and antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase), but decreased the malondialdehyde content and ethylene release rate of P. lactiflora cut flowers. Thus, the aging of P. lactiflora flowers was delayed, thereby maintaining the cut flower quality. Furthermore, the vase life (i.e., ornamental period) increased by three days.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can be programmed to provide specialized light sources and spectra for plant growth. UV-A (397.6 nm), blue (460.6 nm), green (520.7 nm), and red (661.9 nm) LED light sources were used to study the effects of different monochromatic lights on the growth, antioxidant system, and photosynthetic characteristics of Spathiphyllum floribundum ‘Tian Jiao’ (a shade-loving species) and Chrysanthemum morifolium ‘Huang Xiu Qiu’ (a sun-loving species). This research revealed that green and blue light could enhance the morphological indicators, Chl a/b, photosynthetic electron transfer chain performance, and photosystem activity of S. floribundum, blue and red light could enhance the solution protein, Chl a, and photosynthetic electron transfer chain performance of C. morifolium, red and UV-A light viewed the highest SOD and CAT activities of S. floribundum (275.56 U·min·g⁻¹; 148.33 U·min·g⁻¹) and C. morifolium (587.03 U·min·g⁻¹; 98.33 U·min·g⁻¹), respectively. Blue and green light were more suitable for the growth and development of the shade-loving plant S. floribundum, while red and blue light were more suitable for the sun-loving plant C. morifolium. UV-A light could be used for their stress research. The research revealed the different adaptation mechanism of different plants to light environmental conditions.