John Mark R. Padernal, Ronie R. Reyes, Roniel A. Ardeña, Justine V. Gemida, Jerica C. Ameler
Corresponding email: [email protected]
A B S T R A C T
This research determined how different preservatives affected Chrysanthemum cut flowers’ visual quality and vase life (Chrysanthemum morifolium L.). The study’s findings will benefit farmers, particularly chrysanthemum growers, producers, and dealers, by enabling them to enhance and prolong the Chrysanthemum cut flowers’ visual appeal and vase life. The study took place over a period of 23 days. There were four treatments: t0- tap water, t1- three (3) tablespoons of sugar with two (2) tablespoons of vinegar per liter of distilled water, t2- fifty percent coconut water per liter of distilled water, and t3- 200 mg ascorbic acid per 100ml of distilled water. The Complete Randomized Design (CRD) was utilized to arrange these treatments, and four replications were carried out. As a statistical tool for the study, the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s Significant Difference at a 5% significance level were used to compare means. The highest visual quality was obtained from Chrysanthemum cut flowers treated with three tablespoons of sugar with two tablespoons of vinegar in the first, second, and third week, respectively, compared to all other treatments. Also, it got the highest mean for vase life. It was found that the application of three tablespoons of sugar with two tablespoons of vinegar per liter of distilled water is significantly different and can maintain and extend the visual quality or freshness of Chrysanthemum cut flowers as well as the vase life of those flowers. As a result, three tablespoons of sugar with two tablespoons of vinegar is suggested as an alternative to other preservatives for cut flowers. Additional research studies of using sugar with vinegar on other kinds of cut flowers is recommended to validate the results.