Comparative Study of Different Preservative Solutions for Extending Flower Quality and Market Acceptability of Rosa hybrida Cv. Freedom

| Amongst all the floricultural crop, Rose is one of the most important crop both economically as well as aesthetically whose beauty must be enjoyed for longer period of life. Current experiment was performed to discover the comparative consequence of various vase solutions to improve the post-harvest qualities and extend vase life of Rosa hybrida cv. Freedom. The research was performed at the research area of Department of Horticultural Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur. There were 11 treatments comprising of honey (T1), sugar (T2), salicylic acid (T3), acetic acid (T4), indole acetic acid (IAA) (T5) and combination of all solutions with sugar. These treatments were compared with tap water (T0). There were four plants in each treatment with three replications which were arranged according to completely randomized design (CRD) under room temperature. The results showed that maximum fresh weight (g) was obtained in T4 (acetic acid), flower head diameter (mm) and flower color was ideal under T3 (salicylic acid). Maximum dry weight (g), highest flower freshness on 1st and 3rd day, minimum petal discoloration which leads to productive market acceptability and highest vase life was recorded in T2 (sugar). It is worth to note that lowest market acceptability of flower was observed when sugar is combined with other solution especially IAA. It means sugar reduces its effectiveness when combined with growth regulators. From this experiment, it can be concluded that sugar (T2) provide ideal medium for enhancing the post-harvest attributes of Rosa hybrida cv. Freedom.