Influence of Post-harvest Treatments on Flower Quality and Shelf Life of Tabernaemontana divaricata

Abstract

In the present experiment the Tabernaemontana genotype UHSB-CJ3 has been chosen for postharvest experiment to evaluate its response to different chemicals (C1: Sucrose 4%, C2: Boric acid 4%, C3: Water), packaging (40µ and 60 µ polythene bags) and storage conditions (7oC and under room temperature) in a Factorial completely randomized factorial design, with three replications at UHS, Bagalkot during 2021-22. Among the different chemicals, boric acid treatment recorded the highest moisture content (41.90%) and among the different packaging, the higher moisture content was found in buds packed in 60 micron polythene bags and kept at 7oC temperature (82.91%). The maximum relative water content was observed in the boric acid-treated buds (C2), 40.69 percent. Among the different packaging methods, the highest relative water content (76.63 %) was recorded in P2.  The buds treated with boric acid (C2) demonstrated the lowest physiological loss of 6.30 percent, while the highest percentage of physiological loss in weight (16.88%) was found in P2. The combination of boric acid treatment and P2 packaging (C2P2) achieved the highest freshness index of 3.67, along with maximum colour retention of 3.67 at 19th day of storage treatment.