Journal article
An investigation of ethylene sensitivity in three Australian native cut flower genera, Calothamnus, Grevillea and Philotheca
V Williamson, F Rezvani, G Li, G Hepworth
Scientia Horticulturae | Elsevier | Published : 2018
Abstract
Knowing a plant’s sensitivity to ethylene is crucial in order to negate ethylene-mediated senescence with inhibitors such as silver thiosulphate (STS) or 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP). The ethylene sensitivity of three exported Australian native flowers, Calothamnus quadrifidus, Grevillea ‘Superb’ and Philotheca myoporoides was previously unknown. The first two of these three species produced steady amounts of ethylene during vase life. The vase life of all three species was not significantly shortened after exposing the flowers to ethylene (10 µL L-1 for 12 h). However, silver thiosulphate (STS) treatment (0.5 mM pulse for 12 h prior to ethylene exposure) significantly extended the vase life..
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Funding Acknowledgements
Funding from The University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Land and Environment Masters Research Projects was used to purchase the ethylene gas. Rohm and Haas (Pennsylvania) provided the 1-MCP and Matt Adkins (AgroFresh) gave advice on its preparation. The funding source had no further involvement in the work. We thank Dr Dario Stefanelli and Christine Frisina (Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, AgriBio, Bundoora) for their GC advice and access, which enabled us to perform the ethylene analyses at AgriBio. Statistical advice from Dr Andrew Hamilton (University of Melbourne) is gratefully acknowledged. We thank anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.