Effect of 1-Methylcyclopropylene Treatment on Ornamental Quality of Tree Peony'Zi Er Qiao'during Vase Period

Wang Yu; Wang Qi; Li Jian; Han Chenjing; Liu Zhifang; Mu Hongmei

doi:10.14083/j.issn.1001-4942.2025.12.009

Abstract：To investigate the optimal concentration of 1-methylcyclopropylene(1-MCP)as an internal ab-sorbent preservative and physiological responses of the peony variety'Zi Er Qiao'to 1-MCP,this experiment was conducted using distilled water as control(CK).The cut flowers of'Zi Er Qiao'were treated with 1-MCP aqueous solutions at concentrations of 0.015,0.030,0.060 and 0.120 mg/L(labeled as M1,M2,M3 and M4,respectively)for 72 h,and then the solution were replaced with distilled water.The effects of each treatment on flower diameter,increase rate of flower diameter,water loss,water uptake,water balance value,relative elec-trolyte leakage,malondialdehyde(MDA)content and antioxidant enzymes activities were analyzed.The results indicated that among the test treatments,M4 treatment had the best effect on improving the ornamental quality of tree peony.On the 8th day of vase period,the flower diameter of M4 treatment was 9.09%larger than that of CK,and the increase rate of flower diameter was 7.37%higher than that of CK.Throughout the vase period,M4 treatment exhibited higher water uptake and lower water loss compared to CK which reached significant or ex-tremely significant level at early stage,and the fluctuation of water balance value was also lower than that of CK.At later stage of the vase period,the relative electrolyte leakage of petals in M4 treatment was lower than that of CK,the MDA content on the 8th day decreased by 30.78%,and the activities of antioxidant enzymes including peroxidase(POD)and catalase(CAT)were consistently higher than that of CK.These findings demonstrated that 1-MCP could be used as an internal absorbent preservative in vase solutions to extend the ornamental period of'Zi Er Qiao'at an optimal concentration of 0.120 mg/L.The results of this study could provide practical in-sights for improving the postharvest preservation techniques of tree peony cut flowers.