Effect of cycloheximide on postharvest performance of cut spikes of Consolida ajacis cv. Violet Blue
Plant Physiology and Biochemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar-190006, India.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2011.v13i02.30
Key words: Consolida ajacis, vase life, postharvest performance, soluble proteins, sucrose, senescence.
Abstract: A study was conducted to examine the effects of pulse treatment with different concentrations of cycloheximide (CHI) on postharvest performance of cut spikes of Consolida ajacis cv. Violet Blue in distilled water and sucrose 0.2 M+HQS 100 mg/L. The present investigation revealed that at a particular threshold concentration (0.01 mM), it delays senescence and above that it prevents flower opening and promotes senescence. Cycloheximide at 0.01 mM concentration enhanced vase life, besides maintaining higher fresh and dry mass of flowers and soluble protein content in the sepal tissue. The fact that cycloheximide delays petal/sepal senescence demonstrates that the synthesis of particular suicide proteins, probably enzymes responsible for degradation of cellular constituents, orchestrates the cell death programme. Postharvest performance of spikes was much better in spikes pretreated with 0.01 mM CHI and transferred to sucrose+HQS and this can be used as an effective treatment to improve postharvest longevity in this flower system.
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