Effect of blue light and nanosilver on vase life, antioxidant enzymes and some other physiologic parameters of Alstroemeria ‘Napoli’ cut flowers

Abstract

The effects of postharvest blue light exposure have never been studied on cut flowers, so the present study aimed to explore the effects of blue light exposure duration (6, 12, 18, and 24 h) and silver nanoparticle (SNP) application (5, 10, 15, and 20 mg l−1) on the quantitative and qualitative traits of cut Alstroemeria ‘Napoli’ flowers. The control flower received distilled water without blue light exposure. The longest vase life (22.66 days) was related to 10 mg l−1 SNP, not differing from 12 h of blue light exposure (22.00 days) and 20 mg l−1 SNP (21.66 days), significantly. The highest water uptake and total chlorophyll and the lowest ethylene were obtained from the flowers treated with 10 mg l−1 SNP or exposed to 12 h of blue light. These two treatments outperformed the control in reducing MDA accumulation too. APX activity was significantly higher in the flowers treated with 12 h of blue light exposure, 18 h of blue light exposure, or 15 mg l−1 SNP. Except for the blue light exposure for 6 h, all treatments reduced stem-end bacteria versus the control. The lowest bacterial population (57.3 Log10 CFU ml−1) belonged to the flowers treated with 15 mg l−1 SNP. Blue light outperformed SNP in stopping the growth of Gram-positive bacteria and yeast. Based on the results, blue light is introduced as a physical factor to improve the quantitative and qualitative traits of cut Alstroemeria ‘Napoli’ flowers.