Expt 3: 1-Methylcyclopropene gas and sachet treatment. Euphorbia milii ‘Gaia’,Polyscias fruticosa ‘Elegans’, and Schefflera arboricola ‘Gold Capella’ plants, with known or suspected sensitivity to ethylene, were placed into polyethylene tents and treated with 0 (control) or 0.9 mLL–1 1-MCP gas for 5 h at 21 C as described in Expt. 2. The control and 1-MCP-treated plants were then sampled at random and packed into separate cardboard shipping boxes (50.8 cm long,33.0 cm wide, 61.0 cm high) as per commercial practice. Sachets each containing 2.5 g EthylBloc (Floralife, Inc.) were dipped in
water for 1 s to activate 1-MCP release and immediately placed into half of the boxes (two sachets per box) containing control plants in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions (AnilRanwala, personal communication).Boxes holding the remaining control and 1-MCP-treated plants did not contain sachets. Lids to all boxes were then closed. The boxes were maintained for 3 d at 15 C in the dark to simulate short-term interstate truck transport.The sachets remained inside boxes for the entire duration of simulated shipment.One replicate box per treatment was used. Each box was maintained separately in matching 15 C walk-in coolers to reduce the risk of 1-MCP leaking from sachets into adjacent boxes. At the completion of simulated shipment, plants were removed from boxes and allowed to equilibrate to 21 C. They were then treated with either 0 or 1 mLL–1 ethylene for 4 d at 21 C in the dark as described in Expt. 1. Depending on the genotype, five to eight replicate plants were used for each treatment. The plants were maintained for evaluation at 21 C as described in Expt. 1.