Rose Grant Proposal
Abstract:
Every year the flower industry sells millions of long
stem roses. Many are grown in South America and other tropical areas. These
roses are cut at an angle, partially dehydrated, shipped, partially re-hydrated,
and sent out for sale. All in an attempt to distribute fresh cut roses. I
propose researching which angle roses are cut at to provide optimum rose life expectancy and customer enjoyment.
Introduction:
Roses have a relatively short shelf life and extending
this shelf life will allow for greater profits for the floral industry. Most
people are aware that roses need to be cut at an angle under water to help
absorb water and remain fresh or the stems seal to the bottom of the vase and
are unable to absorb water. Some literature talks about using a shallow angle
while others use a steep angle. Many florists aim for a forty five degree
angle. There is interest to determine
which angle provides for optimum rose freshness upon delivery, and allows for
roses to last the longest in storage.
Materials and Methods:
I plan to use
long stem roses from two sources. I plan to arrange for a plantation in South
America to harvest roses using my specified angles and sending those roses
through the partial dehydration, shipping, and re-hydration process which roses
normally go through before sale. Then to re-cut those roses at their specified
angle and see how long they last. I would like to start with one or more of
these varieties Mr. Lincoln, Oklahoma, Hoagy Carmichael,
Chrysler Imperial or Olympiad for the testing.
The other source of roses I will use will be direct
from a florist after which I will cut them at their specified angle and see how
long until they wilt adding in the time spent in transit. This will tell if the
angle at which the roses are cut before being sent to the florists is
important. A wilted rose would be described as flaccid, drooping, and
blackening of the petals.
I will be cutting the roses at 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75,
85 degrees. I will use all the varieties
from each source with two replicates from each source. Once cut, the roses will
be placed in separate sterilized mason jars. I will record the deterioration
rate of each rose then repeat the experiment as varieties become available.
Timeline:
I will have all the roses for that week to arrive all
at one time and on the same day each week. After twenty seven weeks of
repeating the experiment I will graph the results to see which angle roses stay
fresh the longest.
Works Cited
Anderson, Robert
G. "Effect of Cutting Characteristics on Cut-stem Quality of Single-stem
Roses." HortScience.
American Society for Horticultural Science, Aug. 1996. Web. 18
Feb. 2012. <http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/31/4/654.2.short>.
Capdeville, Guy
de, Maffia, Luiz A., Finger, Fernando L., & Batista, Ulisses G. (2003). Gray
mold
severity and vase life of rose buds
after pulsing with citric acid, salicylic acid, calcium
sulfate, sucrose and silver
thiosulfate. (Fitopatologia
Brasileira.)
Kuiper, D.,
Reenen, H.S., van, & Ribôt, S.A. (n.d.). Characterisation of flower bud
opening in
roses; a comparison of Madelon and
Sonia roses. (Postharvest
Biology and Technology 9:
75-86.)
M Mwangi, AM
Kibe, & SK Bhattacharjee. (2008). Influence of wet and dry cold storage
and
holding solution on the respiraton
rate and post harvest life of cut roses. (Journal of
Agriculture, Science and Technology;
Vol 10, No 1 (2008); 43-55.) Journal of Agriculture,
Science and Technology.
Wright, C., &
Madrid, G. (January 01, 2007). Contesting Ethical Trade in Colombia's
Cut-Flower
Industry: A Case of Cultural and
Economic Injustice. Cultural Sociology, 1, 2, 255-275.
Yan, Z., Visser,
P.B., Hendriks, T., Prins, T.W., Stam, P., & Dolstra, O. (n.d.). QTL
analysis of
variation for vigour in rose. (Euphytica 154 (2007) 1-2.)
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