During storage at 4◦C, the LOX activity in the spathe of control cv. Cheers flowers had sharply increased by day 4 and then slightlydecreased toward the end of the 20 d of storage. The LOX activity in the spathe of cv. Cheers flowers treated with 2.0 mM SA did not appreciably increase (Fig. 6B).
The total antioxidant capacity in the spathe of cv. Cheers flowers that were stored at 4 ◦ C slightly decreased during vase life (Fig. 7A). No differences were found between the control flowers and the flowers that had been treated with SA prior to cold storage (Fig. 7A).
CAT activity of the spathe in control cv. Cheers flowers increased during the first 8 days of storage at 4◦C, then decreased (Fig. 7B). The CAT activity of the spathe of flowers that had been treated with SA increased more than in the controls (Fig. 7B).
The SOD activity in the spathe of cv. Cheers increased from day 0 to 4 of vase life, then gradually decreased (Fig. 7C). The spathe SOD activity of cut flowers treated with 2.0 mM SA was higher than in the control flowers, but had become the same by day 16 and day 20 of the experiment (Fig. 7C).