Physiological and anatomical consequences of nanosilver plus ascorbic acid treatments in the vase life of cut foxtail lily inflorescences

Abstract

Foxtail lily (Eremurus spp.) is a new and commercially significant specialty cut flower (SCF) with indeterminate inflorescence, but its vase life is relatively short. This study aimed to investigate the role of postharvest treatments in cut inflorescence growth and vase life of two species of foxtail lily (E. persicus and E. spectabilis) subjected to nanosilver (NS), ascorbic acid (AsA), and NS plus AsA as pulsing and continuous procedures, respectively. Both species exhibited a comparable response to AsA and NS treatments in terms of delayed senescence, although the effectiveness of these treatments varied depending on foxtail lily species. The most significant delay in senescence was observed with the NS and NS plus AsA treatments, increasing the vase life of E. persicus and E. spectabilis by 4 and 3 days, respectively, compared with the control treatment. Furthermore, AsA and NS treatments significantly enhanced the number of open florets and inflorescence length, which correlated with improvements in water balance, relative water content, and vascular size, as evidenced by heatmap clustering and principal component analysis (PCA). Improved postharvest performance of NS- and AsA-treated foxtail lily species could be attributed to enhanced water relations and decreased H₂O₂ and malondialdehyde accumulation, which resulted from increased xylem characteristics (the number and diameter of xylem vessels) and antioxidant enzyme activities. Collectively, it is concluded that the postharvest senescence process in cut flowers can be delayed by pulsing NS and continuous AsA treatments. Given that these treatments may alter the vascular characteristics of the indeterminate inflorescences, more research is highly recommended to further investigate and comprehend these findings.