Daffodil is one of the most beautiful flowers having variety
of colors. It is known as the flower of spring as it has many colors like red,
orange, white and pink. These flowers cannot get so mush popularity as cut
flower because of its very short storage life. Different postharvest treatments
have been used and tested to enhance the vase life of the daffodils. Because of
its beautiful color pattern it is being praised by many poets of the world. Post
harvest treatments used to improve the quality and the shelf life of the
daffodils are as follows:
Criteria for the
Quality Characteristics of Daffodils:
For long shelf life and high quality of the daffodils, the
harvesting stage of the flower has supreme importance. Mostly the daffodils are
harvested at the stage named as goose neck. Some time they are harvested when
only one flower is open at spike. Harvesting is done by cutting the stem with
the sharp knife. Some time the whole plant is removed along with the bulb of
daffodils. The purchasing of daffodils depends upon the stage of harvest pencil
stage include the flower erect on the stem while bent flower is in the goose
stage.
Bunching and Grading of
Daffodils:
In the daffodils the type of flower depends upon the number
of spikes on the stem. If the flower after plucking is laid down in flat
position the flower remain erect and remain away from the gravity. The other
way is to keep the flower at proper temperature and controlled humidity. If the
flower is not placed at cool temperature then it must be placed in vertical
position. The flowers are graded on the basis of maturity, colors and free of
any defects. The bunch of flower normally contains 10 to 20 flowers tied with
rubber band or plastic sheet.
Storage Conditions for the Daffodils:
Store the daffodils at about 1 ºC. Try to pile up the flowers in upright position as these flowers will curve upwards against the gravity. Narcissus flower can be stored at 1 ºC and the relative humidity should be 80 to 90% for up to 3 weeks. It can be preserved for many days if daffodils are stored at 100% relative humidity. Narcissus should be stored in a way that it must have as long a vase-life as cut flowers and almost triple the vase-life of the flowers stored in the air. Flowers should be stored upright to prevent the gravity curvature and dry when packed in the containers that allow fast cooling of the flowers. Daffodils are mostly packed in the fiberboard or vertical cardboard boxes.
Packing of the
daffodils:
As the flowers show sensitivity to gravity, daffodils are
frequently packed in the hampers. They may be packed in the horizontal or some
time vertical fiberboard boxes. Proper pre-cooling and the correct storage
temperature are also important along with the proper packing material.
With proper and appropriate handling of daffodils we can
enjoy the beauty of the flower even for longer period of time.
