Water loss and postharvest characteristics of cut roses grown at high or moderate relative air humidity

Single node cuttings with one mature leaf were taken from the rose cv. Baroness and rooted in water culture. The rooted stems were kept in water culture and subjected to one of the two levels of relative air humidity (RH) (high: 90%, moderate: 70%) in climate chambers. Morphological characteristics, dry weight (DW), osmotic concentration, hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin content in the pedicel and vase life behavior were studied, as well as water loss. Only negligible differences in growth and morphology were found. No clear difference in lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose content in pedicels was found between moderate and high RH grown roses. Uncontrolled water loss was characteristic for leaves from high RH roses. Base treatment with AgNO₃ improved vase life of high RH roses from 7 to 12 days. Moderate RH roses lasted on average 15.5 days, and vase life was only slightly improved with the use of AgNO₃. Preservative solutions caused crispy areas between the veins and brittle leaves on roses grown at high but not at moderate RH. A 10% lower osmotic concentration in leaves and flowers was found in roses grown at high RH, as compared to moderate RH. It is concluded that the shorter postharvest life of high RH flowers is mainly due to malfunctioning stomata.