Abstract

Tulip is one of the most important cut flowers in the world marketand abscission of the tepals is this species’most commonsymptom during vase life. To prevent these symptoms and extendpostharvest life, passive and active modified atmosphere packaging(MAP) was applied at 0°C. Respiratory rate (CO2Kg−1h−1), ethyleneproduction (μL kg−1h−1) and concentration of CO2 and O2 (%)inside the packaging were evaluated during storage, while freshweight loss (FWL) (%) and vase life (days) were assessed. Flowersstored using MAP performed significantly better than conventionalpackaging. A lower FWL (only up to 0.3%) was observed on MAPwhile FWL was as high as 18 to 21% for conventional packagingafter 20 and 31 days, respectively. Vase life was 5.7 and 6.0 days foractive and passive MAP, respectively compared to 3.3 days forconventional packing. Thus, MAP successfully extended postharvestlife of tulip flowers.