Cv. Cheers flowers were selected to test a pulse treatment with 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0mM salicylic acid (SA) for 15min at room tem- perature. The flowers were then stored at 4◦C. Dipping flowers in 1.0 and 1.5mM SA had no protective effect against CI (data not shown). Dipping in 2.0 mM SA alleviated CI symptoms (mainly spathe browning) in cv. Cheers (Fig. 5A).
The FW of cv. Cheers flowers treated with 2.0 mM SA prior to storage at 4◦C, decreased less than that of the control flowers (Fig. 5B). The EL of the spathe of cv. Cheers treated with 2.0 mM SA remained lower than that in untreated control flowers (Fig. 5C).
TBA binds with degradation products of lipid peroxidation, such as malondialdehyde. However, this reaction is not specific, thus the TBA reaction is only an approximation of lipid peroxidation (Knight et al., 1988). During storage at 4◦C, the concentration of TBA- reactive compounds in the spathe of control cv. Cheers increased (Fig. 6A). Compared to the controls, a lower concentration of TBA- reactive compounds was found in the spathe of flowers treated with 2.0 mM SA than (Fig. 6A).