MASTER’S SEMINAR

(APH-600)

INFLUENCE OF PRE-HARVEST FACTORS

ON POST HARVEST HANDLING OF
FLORICULTURAL CROPS

Speaker: Mr. Anand Singh Rawat

Id No. 50949
M.Sc. Agriculture, Horticulture
(Floriculture and Landscaping)
Contents

 Introduction
 Pre- harvest factors
 Physiological disorders
 Case studies
 Future prospects
 Conclusion
 Introduction

 Floriculture is a Latin word derived from floris which means

flower.
 Floriculture is important from economic as well commercial
perspective.
 The total area and production under floriculture in India is
about 255020 ha and 1754490 MT loose flowers and 543000
MT cut flowers respectively (2014-15, NHB) .
 India export 22500 MT of floricultural products to the world
of worth ₹ 480 Cr. (2015-16, APEDA).
 India shares only 0.6 % of world’s total export.
 The overall quality and condition of fresh produce cannot
be improved after harvest.
 Vase life and quality of flowers is also dependent on pre-
harvest factors.
 Post harvest losses in terms of the value of the produce
which are estimated to be 30-40 per cent of farm value.
 Factors Affect Flower Quality

Pre-harvest Factors Post-harvest Factors

Pre Harvest Factors
Physiology and morphology of ornamental plants are
very much influenced by both internal and external
factors.

 Genetic
 Environmental
 Cultural
 Harvesting
 Physiological
 Insect pest and diseases
Genetic Effect
 Post harvest lasting quality of flower species and cultivars
vary considerably due to differences in their genetic make-up.
 There is a wide range of genotypic variation in composition,
quality, and post harvest life potential.
 Those cultivars should be selected for planting, which have
better transport quality and long shelf-life.
Environmental Effect

 Light intensity

 Temperature

 Humidity

 Carbon dioxide
Light Intensity

 Higher light intensity causes

accumulation of starch and
sucrose in leaves.
 Carbon nitrogen ratio also
increased in sunny condition.
 Low light condition cause low
Influence of light intensity in orchid spp.
transpiration.
 Affect internode length.
 Temperature
 The optimum soil temperature for
most foliage plant should be 18-28
ºC.
 Most of plant can tolerant air
temperature of 13-32 ºC. Effect of high temp. Elegant spider orchid
 Temperature above 32 ºC often
cause leaf injury and death of plant.
 Low night temperature increases
dry matter and numbers of leaves.

Effect of low temp. on Vanda kultana

https://www.cloudsorchids.com
Fig.1 The effect of temperature on different quality criteria on the rose
flower and stem.
Humidity

 Keep cell turgid and to carry out

photosynthesis.
 Optimum RH ranges between 60 to
90 %.
 Low humidity causes browning of
edge in palms and ferns.
 High humidity causes the pale
colour leaves in flowers.
Influence of low humidity in fern
 High humidity Remove pollutants.
Carbon Dioxide

 Increase rate of photosynthesis.

 Enhancement of vegetative
growth.
 Its protect plant from salinity
stress and SO2 damage.
 High CO2 reduces 20-40 %
transpiration.

Effect of CO2 in seedling

Cultural Practices

 Irrigation
 Fertilization
 Pruning
 Pinching
 Disbudding
 Shading
Irrigation
Irrigation water quality is an important factor for
flower growth which determine the quality of flower.

Irrigation water quality

 Water pH are generally maintain 6.5 -7.5.

−1
 Electrical conductivity should be 0-25 dsm .
 SAR value between 0-10 have no hazard on crop.
 Chloride concentration less
than 4 mol-1 is excellent.

 Fluoridated municipal water

is very toxic to flowers.

Fluoride toxicity in gladiolus and palm

 Fertilization

NPK helps in energy transformation in cells, control

rate of transpiration.

 Higher dose of fertilizer causes

bract edge Burning (Nell et al.,
1995).
 Higher NPK dose causes leaves
drop.

Bract edge burn in poinsettia

 Pruning

 Pruning is important practice

applied in cut foliage and
flowers.
 The unwanted stems are removed

Pruning of rose
 Pinching or Stopping

The removal of the growing point of a shoot along with few

leaves is termed as 'Pinching' or 'Stopping'.

 Encourage lateral branches

 Produce bushy growth
 Increase number of flowers.

Types of pinching
 Single pinching
 Single and half
 Double pinching
 Disbudding

 Removal of unwanted flower

bud to get vigorous bloom.

 Generally immature axillary

flower bud are Removed

Disbudding in dahilia
 Shading

 Shading during the production

phase affects vase life of
flowers.

 70- 80% shade lengthens vase Normal Anthurium flower

life of fronds (Wky et al., 1996).

 Reduce flower deformation in

Anthurium.

Deformed Anthurium flower

Harvesting Factors

 Harvesting and handling

 Maturity
 Stage of harvesting
Harvesting

 Harvesting should be done

during cooler part of the day
 Avoid Harvesting during hot
periods.
 Avoid harvesting during rains.
 Avoid mechanical injury during
harvesting.
Care and handling during harvesting

 Make slant cut on flower stem.

 Disinfect the cutting tools
frequently.
 Grade and bunch flowers
immediately after harvest.
 Place flower in shady place after
harvest.
 Avoid over-filing of flower
containers.
 Harvesting maturity

 It is defined as a point at which crop can be harvested

and it will continue to grow and develop to reach
maximum quality.
 It is important to know the optimum stage of harvesting.
Factors determining the correct harvest
maturity of flowers

 Crop
 Species
 Cultivar
 Flower market
 Handling during marketing process
 Consumer preference
 Recommended harvesting stages of different flowers
Name of flower Stage of harvest
Althea rosea Half floret open
Anthurium sp. Spadix almost fully developed
Callistephus chinensis Fully open flowers
Cattleya sp. Half floret open
Cymbidium sp. 3-4 days after opening
Dahlia variabilis Fully open flower
Dendrobium sp. Fully open flower
Dianthus caryophyllus
i. Standard cultivars Half open flowers
ii.Spray cultivars Two fully open flowers
Gerbera jamesonii Outer row of flowers all fully mature
Hippeastrum hybrids Coloured buds
Narcissus sp. Goose neck stage
Paphiopedilum sp. 3-4 days after opening
Phalaenopsis sp. 3-4 days after opening
Polianthes tuberosa Two basal floret creamy white or one floret opened
Solidago sp. Half floret open
Strelitzia reginae First floret open
Tagetes erecta Fully open flower
Tulipa erecta Half coloured buds
Zinnia elegans Fully open flowers

Srivastava and Kumari, 2017

 Stage of Harvesting of Different Flowers

Lilium

Distant market (bud stage ) Local market (full bloom stage)

Tulip

Distant Market (bud stage) Local Market (half open stage)

Tuberose

Loose flower (fully open) Cut flower (lower bud open)

Carnation

Distant Market (bud stage) Local Market (semi open)

Marigold

Loose flower marketing

Orchid

Cymbidium Vanda
Gladiolus

Distant market Local market

(bud showing color) (half open bud )
Chrysanthemum

Distant market (bud stage) Local market (semi open)

Rose

Distant market (bud stage) Local market (first petal open)

 Advantages of harvesting flowers in bud stage

 Reduce the harmful effect of ethylene during shipment and

storage.

 Saves space during shipment and storage.

 Extending vase life of flowers.

 Minimizing the damage to flowers by adverse climate and

insect-pests.

 Reduce the crop duration.

Causes of Deterioration of Flowers

 Growing conditions  Water quality

 Mechanical injury  Ethylene gas
 Depletion of food reserve  Heat damage
 Infections by microbes
 Plugging of xylem vessels
 Senescence and aging
 Moisture content
Physiological factors

 Growth regulators
 Growth Regulators

 It promote more compact and attractive growth of

flowers.
 Commonly used growth regulators in flowers are
gibberellins, ethylene and their antagonists.
 1-MCP reduce ethylene damage in flowers.
 Spray of 50ppm GA3 shows faster growth, increases stem
length, delay colouring of bract in Cyathia (Hartrath,
1987).
 Uniconazole treatment increases resistance from drought
and wilting.
Ethylene - an important factor

Useful
 Accelerates ripening
 Causes abscission under stress condition.
 Stimulate growth in waterlogged soil.
 Stimulate flowering in iris and narcissus.
Problems
 Accelerates unwanted ripening
 Accelerates senescence
 Causes abscission
 It leads to loss of water in cut flowers.
 Decreases water uptake.
 Decreases fresh weight of flowers.
 Chemical used for inhibiting ethylene effects

 Amino-ethoxy vinyl glycine

 Amino-oxy-acetic acid (AOA)
 Methoxy vinyl glycine (MVG)
 Promalin
 1-MCP (1- Methyl Cyclo-
Propene)- a non-toxic.
 Pre harvest treatment with 1000
ppm silver nitrate is used to
Effect of different chemicals on Lilium
reduce ethylene injury.
 Mineral solutes used in prolonging flower longevity

 Silver nitrate  Aluminium sulphate

 Sugar  Borax
 8-HQC  Calcium nitrate
 8-HQS  Silver thiosulphate (STS)
 Cobalt nitrate  1-MCP (1- Methyl Cyclo
Propene)
 Zinc sulphate
 Nickel chloride  Sodium hypochlorite

 Citric acid  Thiobendazole

 Aluminium nitrate
Physiological disorders of flowers due to pre-harvest
factors

Rose
Bull heads
 The bud appears flat and bull
like.
 Cause due to low temperature
and lake of carbohydrates.
 Thrips infestation may also
cause malformed flowers.
Blind wood
 The failure of development of flower
on the apical end of the stem.
 This may be caused by low
temperature, insufficient light.
 chemical residues, insect, pests, fungal
disease.

Colour fading
 Off coloured flowers are develop.
 Causes due to low temperature.
 Raising the night temperature reduce
the number of off-coloured flowers.
Carnation
Splitting of calyx
 The calyx split down either half or
completely.
 Causes due to light, temperature
fluctuate and Boron deficiency
 Higher planting density also caused
more calyx splitting.

.
Chrysanthemum
Blindness
 It occurs due to the low night
temperature.
 long days conditions at the time
of flower buds formation
Gerbera
Stem break
 Its an common post harvest
disorder.
 mainly caused by water
imbalances in plants .
Anthurium

Flower deformation
 This disorder is mainly genetic
dependent.

Cracks
 Caused due to higher relative
humidity.
Orchids
Oedema
 Oedema is a physiological
disorder of orchids caused by
overwatering.
 This condition frequently
occurs during periods of cool
weather.
Insect Pest and Diseases
Insect Pest

Rose
Bud borer
Thrips

Gerbera
Thrips
Diseases

Rose
Powdery mildew

Carnation
Carnation vein motel virus(CVMV)
Alternaria leaf spot

Anthurium
Anthurium blight
Case Studies
Case Study 1
Influence of different light regimes on the vernalization
requirement of Asiatic hybrid lily cv. 'Elite'

Table 1. Effect of different light regimes on Inflorescence length (cm),

Inflorescence longevity (days) and Individual flower longevity (days) and vase life
(days)
Treatment Inflorescence Inflorescence Individual Flower Vase life
(Light regimes) length (cm) longevity (days) Longevity (days) (days)
Light regime 1 7.4 10.0 3.2 7.4
Light regime 2 9.3 11.8 3.2 7.1
Light regime 3 12.4 12.8 4.0 7.9
Light regime 4 15.2 14.2 4.2 8.4
Light regime 5 17.9 16.4 4.6 9.2
Light regime 6 16.2 14.9 4.1 8.8
CD 0.05 2.23 2.78 0.50 1.23

Light regime 1 (natural light through out the growing period); Light regime 2 (8 hr. natural light); Light
regime 3 ( 8 hr. NL+ 4 hr. artificial light); Light regime 4 (8 hr. NL+ 8 hr. AL); Light regime 5 (8 hr. NL+ 10
hr. AL); Light regime 6 (8 hr. NL+ 12 hr. AL)
Note NR- natural light ; AR- artificial light
IARI regional station, Kullu Dhiman et al., 2008
Case Study 2

Effects of Pre and Postharvest Conditions on Vase Life

of Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum L.)

Fig. Effect of photosynthetic photon flux density and daily lighting period (16-h
and 24-h) on relative fresh weight of cut stems of Lisianthus cv. 'Kyoto Purple‘.

Islam et al., 2003

Case Study 3

Influence of low temperature on growth, flowering and

vase life in tulip

Table. Effect of pre-cooling duration on vase life studies on cut

tulip cv. Cassini
Treatment Flower diameter (cm) Vase life (days)
Control 8.44 4.77
45 days 6.51 6.75
60 days 6.04 6.97
70 days 6.01 8.18
C.D. at 5% 0.46 0.53

SKUAST, Srinagar Nelofar et al., 2006

Case study 4

Effect of pinching on growth, flowering, seed yield

and quality traits in Mexican marigold (Tagets
erecta Linn.)

Table 1. Effect of pinching on flower in African marigold cv. Pusa Narangi Gainda.

Treatment No. of flowers/ Flower size Shoot length

plant (cm) (cm)
T0 (No pinching) 56.30 4.64 3.98
T1 (Single pinching) 6158 5.01 4.11
T2 (Double pinching) 63.81 5.05 3.97
C.D. (P=0.05) 2.05 0.24 0.53

T0 No pinching; T1 Single pinching; T2 Double pinching

AAI, Allahabad Bhat and Shephered, 2007

Case study 5

Effect of harvesting stages and BAP on post-storage keeping quality

of cut stems of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora Tzvelev)
Table : Effect of stage of harvesting on keeping quality of cut stems of
chrysanthemum cv. Reagan Emperor

Storage duration (day) Flower longevity (day)

S1 S2 S3 Mean

3 20.16 18.33 15.22 17.90

6 18.33 16.22 14.33 16.29
9 17.33 15.11 13.11 15.18
12 14.70 13.55 13.33 13.86
15 13.11 11.11 5.78 10.00
18 12.18 7.11 6.00 8.43
21 7.48 4.11 4.57 5.39
Control 19.77 18.22 15.11 17.37
Mean 15.38 13.10 11.06
LSD(P=0.05) S1- when the ray florets had attained diameter of 1.0-1.5 cm; S2- when the buds were
half open ; S3- when the buds were 3/4th open
PAU, Ludhiana Singh et. al., 2010
Case Study 6
Effect of pinching and nitrogen application on growth and
flower production in carnation (Dianthus caryophy llus Linn.)
cv. Tasman

Treatment Flower stem length Flower diameter Vase life (days)

(cm) (cm)
P1 52.1 5.7 5.36

P2 43.1 5.6 5.30

P3 39.5 5.2 5.30

P1N1 54.1 5.9 5.53

P1N2 50.0 5.6 5.46

P1N3 40.5 5.4 5.50

P1N2 58.4 5.8 5.26

P2N2 51.6 5.7 5.26

P3N3 44.2 5.5 5.40

C.D. at 5% 0.34 0.18 0.24

P1 -Single pinching; P2 Pinch and half; P3 -Double pinching; N1 200 ppm nitrogen;
N2 500 ppm nitrogen.

PAU, Ludhiana Singh et al., 2006

Case study 7

Effect of boron on calyx splitting in carnation

(Dianthus caryophyllus Linn.)

Fig.1. Effect of boron on calyx splitting (%) in carnation var. Madame

Collette.
T1- 2 gm/m2 borax soil application; T2 - 4 gm /m2 ; T3 - 6gm/m2; T4 - 0.1 %
spray of borax ; T5 - 0.3 %; T6 – 0.5% ;T7 – control.

TNAU, Coimbatore Karthikeyan et al., 2009

Case study 8

Effect of nitrogen fertilizer on different attributes of

gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorous L.) cv. American Beauty

Table : Effect of different levels of nitrogen on attributes of gladiolus cv.

American Beauty
Treatment Number of Rachis Spike Length Vase Life
Nitrogen kg/acre florets per spike Length (cm) (cm) (days)
N0 14.27 46.43 100.81 9.09
N1 16.39 52.95 118.46 10.59

N2 18.00 61.31 127.17 11.73

N3 17.53 56.55 124.03 11.61

CD at 0.05% 0.54 0.51 0.53 0.38

Where N0 – (o kg /acre), N1 – (40 kg /acre), N2 – (60 kg /acre), N3 – (80 kg /acre)

Kumar et al., 2017

Case study 9
Effect of nitrogen on growth, flowering and yield
of tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.) cv. Single
Table : Effect of nitrogen on floral parameter of tuberose cv. Single

Treatment Spike length (cm) Rachis length (cm) No. of florets/spike

0kg /ha (control) 97.03 19.54 24.86

20kg /ha 97.15 20.55 26.97
40kg /ha 98.46 20.98 27.04
60g /ha 100.13 21.60 27.64
80kg /ha 101.26 22.40 29.01
100kg /ha 102.12 22.62 29.07
120kg /ha 106.00 22.78 29.36
140kg /ha 110.32 23.48 29.55
160kg /ha 112.08 24.43 30.26
180kg /ha 115.61 25.74 30.90
200kg /ha 117.96 28.00 31.59
220kg /ha 119.89 29.16 33.22
C.D.(P =0.05) 4.04 3.18 1.98

CAU, Imphal Devi and Singh, 2010

Case Study 10
Effect of gibberellic acid on growth, flowering and
corm yield in three cultivars of gladiolus
Table1.Effect of cultivar and gibberellic add on flowering and corm yield of
gladiolus (two years pooled data)

Treatment Spike length No. of florets Rachis length Vase life (cm)
(cm) /spike (cm)
Gibberellic acid
GA3(0 ppm) 72.37 12.78 52.22 10.40
GA3(100 ppm) 72.44 15.84 52.24 13.43
GA3(1000 ppm) 73.96 18.01 52.84 14.33

GA3 (300 ppm) 71.98 14.74 51.55 13.73

Cultivar
Red Beauty 75.45 16.46 60.47 13.70.
Jester 74.05 14.18 51.20 13.42
Summer Face 68.35 15.39 45.72 11.80
C.D. (P=0.05) GA3 = 7.04 GA3 = 1.01 GA3 = 4.25 GA3 = 0.89
C=6.09 C=0.88 C=3.68 C=0.77
C×GA3=12.19 C×GA3=1.76 C×GA3=7.37 C×GA3=1.54

J.N.K.VV., Jabalpur Sharma et al., 2006

Case study 11
Effect of growth substances on flowering and bulb production
in tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa Linn.) cv. Pearl Double

Table 1.Influence by different concentrations of maleic hydrazide and cycocel on

floral attributes in tuberose.
Treatment (ppm) Spike length (cm) Spike weight (g) Numbers of florets/
spike
Maleic hydrazide
M1(50) 73.63 39.08 28.08
M2(100) 76.51 40.90 31.07
M3(150) 75.88 39.96 29.93
Cycocyle
C1(3000) 74.31 38.56 28.70
C2(5000) 76.68 42.22 30.84
C3(7000) 75.03 39.16 29.53
Control 70.04 35.50 27.40
C.D. (P=0.05) 2.52 0.55 0.86

CCU, Meerut Jitendra et al., 2006

Case Study 12

Response of gibberellic acid on growth and flowering

attributes in anthurium (Anthurium andreanum Lind.)

Table 1. Effect of GA3 on growth and flowering attributes in different

cultivars of anthurium after 8 month of foliar spray.

Treatment Stalk length Spathe Spathe Spadix

(cm) width (cm) length (cm) length (cm)
T1 24.32 7.93 8.30 2.91

T2 25.34 8.02 8.41 3.01

T3 26.06 8.53 9.09 3.00

Control 22.36 6.49 7.01 2.43

C.D. (P=0.05) 2.68 0.68 0.82 0.11

T1 – 300 ppm GA3 ; T2 – 400 ppm GA3 ; T3 – 500 ppm GA3

NAU, Navsari Dhaduk et al., 2007

Future Prospects

 To reduce the losses due pre harvest factors.

 To make farmers skilled.
 To Develop resistant varieties.
 To Develop flori-techniques.
 To increase the farmer income by reducing post harvest
losses by adopting the good agriculture practices (GAPs).
 To grow export quality produce.
Conclusion