Cut flower and loose flower - Grading, packaging and storage techniques

Post harvest handling techniques of cut and loose flowers – grading, packaging and storage techniques

1. Lecture No. 29
Post harvest handling techniques of cut and loose flowers –
grading, packaging and storage techniques

2. GRADING
•Appearance
•Stage of maturity
•Stem length
•Blemishes or injuries due to diseases
•Infestation by insect pest
•Colour and size of bud

3. GRADING
Stem:
•Straight, and required length
•Free from side shoots and strong enough to hold the
Head intact.
•Stem should be free from physiological disorders such
as bent neck (roses), geotropical bending (gladiolus),
Stem break (gerbera) and calyx splitting (carnation)
Leaves:
•Should be dark green and bright,
•Free from dust or residue of any chemical spray

4. •Strong straight stem capable of holding the flowers in upright
position, uniform stem length, shape and size of the flower,
uniform stage of development, free from injuries and foliage
must be healthy and good
•In USA stem length is considered the most important point for
grading roses
•The EEC established compulsory grades and standards in order
to maintain uniformity in the grading procedures in roses

Grading of cut rose

5. Grades and standard of cut roses as per European
Economic Community
Code Stem length (cm) Code Stem length (cm)
0 >5 40 40-50
5 5-10 50 50-60
10 10-15 60 60-80
15 15-20 80 80-100
20 20-30 100 100-120
30 30-40 120 120 or more

6. Grading of Carnation


•Graded based on stem length and physical condition of the flower

•Bright and clean

•Fairly tight petals near the center of the unopened flowers

•No split or mended calyx

•No lateral bud or side shoots

•No decay or damage

•Straight stem and normal growth

7. Grading of carnation
Description Code
Minimum & Maximum Stem
Length (in cm)
0 Less than 5cm
5 5-10
10 10-15
15 15-20
20 20-30
30 30-40
40 40-50
50 50-60
80 80-100
100 100-120
120 120

8. Grading by Society of American Florists
S. No. Parameters
Grade
Blue or Fancy Red or Standard Green or Short
1. Bud diameter (mm)
a) Tight 50 44 none
b) Fairly tight 62 56 none
c) Open 75 60 none
2. stem length (cm) 55 43 30

9. Grading of Gerbera

Aalsmeer Flower Auction Association


Grade

Flower character


Stalk length (cm)

Flower diameter (cm)
Fancy

>50

>9

Standard

> 40

>7

10. Grade code According to dutch auctions
Grade code Minimum Flower diameter (cm)
08 8
09 9
10 10
11 11
12 12
Grade code increases with increase in flower diameter

Flower diameter grade is mentioned during trading using trade code
Grading of Gerbera

11. Grade
Minimum flower diameter
(mm)
Minimum stem length (cm)
Blue 140 76
Red 121 76
Green 102 61
Grading of standard chrysanthemum by Society of
American Florists
Grading of chrysanthemum

12. Grade Stems per sleeve Specifications
Gold 10
6 flowers or more out and some more to
come
Silver 15 4-6 flowers out and some to come
Bronze 20 3 flowers out and some to come
Metric grade specification for spray cultivars
Grading of chrysanthemum

13. Grading of Gladiolus
Graded based on overall quality, length of spike and number of florets in each
spike

Grades for cut gladiolus as per North American Gladiolus Council (NAGC)

Grade Spike length (cm) No. of florets (minimum)
Fancy >107 16
Special > 96 - 107 15
Standard >81 - 96 12
Utility >81 10

14. Grading of Anthurium


•Remove - Flowers having black spots, blemishes, discoloured spathe,
deformed flowers or short stalk
•They should be spotless and shining

15. Grade (code)
Caribbean and Hawaii Mauritius
Flower size (inch) Stem/box
Flower size
(inch)
Stem/box
Premium >6.0 8 8.0 20
Extra large 5.5-6.0 15 >6.0 25
Large 5.0-5.5 18 5.0-6.0 30
Medium 4.0-5.0 25 4.0-5.0 40
Small 3.0-4.0 30 3.0-4.0 45
Mini 2.5-3.0 40 >3.0 80
Peewee >2.5 50 - . -
The grading standards of Anthurium flowers in Caribbean,
Hawaii and Mauritius

16. Grading & Price of Liliums
Price per stem (Rs.)

Grades

No. of
buds/stem
Asiatic Oriental
A+ 4+ buds 25 35
A 4 buds 20 30
B 3 buds 15 20
C 2 buds 10 15
 Grading is done based on the number of buds per stem

17. Grading of Dendrobium
Grade

Spike length
No. of opened
flowers
Small (S)

30cm 4-5
Medium (M)

40cm 6-8
Large (L)

45cm 8-10
Extra Large 50cm
>10

18. Grade Stem length (cm) Stems per bunch Stems per box
Super 90 or more 5 20,30
AAA 70-89 5 40
AA 55-69 5 60
A 40-54 5 90
Posy 30-39 10 150
Pixie 20-29 10 200
Grading of Calla lily
Quality callas have long stems, are uniform in maturity and color, and
have no defects such as damage to the spathe or spadix.

19. Packing and packaging of
important cut flowers

20.  Cellophane paper
 Butter paper
 CFB papers
 Aluminum laminated foil
 Polyethylene sheet
Gunny cloth
Muslin cloth
Polythene bags

Packing materials
20

21. Objectives of packaging

•Prevent physical damage
•Water loss
•External factors

22. Factors determining packaging material
Type, size and capacity of packaging depends
•Flower species
•Nature of market
•Distance of market

23. Quality of ideal Package

Moisture & gas control
Ventilation
Allow rapid cooling
Protect from O
2, light
Easy machine handling
Proper Shape & Size
Packing density
Less Space/volume
Zero toxicity
High product viability
Sufficient capacity
Stable performance under
varied temperature
Adequate irrational strength
Puncture strength
Thickness of cushioning
materials

24. 24
Polythene films

LDPE films

Aluminium foil
CFB papers

25. Packing materials


Corrugated Fibre Board
Polythene bags
Muslin cloth
Kraft paper

26. Cushioning material
Tissue paper
Paper and newspaper shredding
Leaves
Bubble sheet
Foam sheet – white / black
Thermocole cuttings

27. Dimensions of Some Existing Packages
Flower
Length
(cm)
Width
(cm)
Height
(cm)
Carnation 100 40 20
Chrysanthemum 80 50 23
Gladiolus 120 50 15
Rose 100 40 30

28. Rose
•The graded stems are made into bundles of 20 each

•Bundle tied with elastic bands – upper half wrapped with tissue , parchment
paper, cellophane sleeve or grease proof paper

•Card board cartons – 2-4 ply with telescopic cover – 100 X 40 X 30 cm or
120 X 45 X 25 cm used

•Long stemmed buds are packed in 5 different layers of 4 flowers in each
layer at two different levels

29. •After packing the flowers, the box is closed with a lid
•Varieties or stems of varying length in the same box should not
be mixed
•The boxes should have stickers indicating the name of the
variety, number and length of the stems.
•In general, the packing boxes are cooled by placing them open in
cold rooms but preferably by forced air cooling through the
vents in the sides of the boxes.
Rose

33. Corrugated cardboard sleeves provide
excellent cushioning and protection

34. Orchid
•Place bulk flowers in telescoping
boxes that accommodate the size of
plant material

• Ideally, the boxes should measure
less than 100cm in length, 60cm in
height and 65cm in width

•Choose corrugated shipping
cartons constructed with moisture-
resistant adhesive, because when
the box is precooled, temperature
and humidity can weaken it

35. Wet packing
Orchid
Placed in plastic vial or rubber balloon filled with water and tied to
the flower stem with twine
End of stem placed in absorbent cotton saturated with water
Tight packing maintain high level CO
2 and O
2 – rate of respiration
low – longevity increased

39. S

40. Chrysanthemum
•Standards and spider mums can be wrapped individually
with thin wax paper or tissue paper to avoid bruising

•Flowers are wrapped in plastic sleeves and packed in
fiberboard boxes

•Standard chrysanthemums
•Packed in boxes measuring 91 x 43 x 15 cm

•Spray chrysanthemums
•Packed in boxes measuring 80 x 50 x 23 cm

45. Carnation
•The graded flowers are bundled, each containing
–20-25 flowers - standard cultivar
–35 opened or partially opened flowers - 7 or 10 spray stems

•The fully opened flowers of standard cultivars are
protected by inserting the individual flowers in
polyethylene sleeves

•The bunches are pre-cooled at 2-5°C and packed into
corrugated fiber boxes for transport

•The boxes are cooled by forced air cooling before
transport

48. Anthurium
 Anthuriums are normally packaged individually

They are commonly packed in moist shredded newsprint or other shredded
paper

Many producers now wrap the flowers in small plastic bags and pack the
anthuriums more densely in the box

•Extra large – 12 stems/box
•Large – 12 stems/box
•Medium – 16 stems/box
•Small – 20 stems/box

•The box is lined with polythene sheets and layers of newspaper. 120 Nos. of cut
anthurium are packed in a 102x43x29 cm box with their spathe face down
and their stem interwoven

51. Gladiolus
•Geotropic bending - Upright position
•Make bunches of 10, 12 or 20 spikes and they are held together with
rubber bands
• Bunches of spikes are wrapped in craft paper or polythene for protection
from sudden temperature fluctuation, bruising and moisture stress
• Thin polythene foil of 0.04-0.06 mm thickness is used as protective cover
to permit partial gas exchange
• In corrugated card board boxes of 120 x 60 x 30 cm (L x W x H)
accommodates about 180-200 cut flowers of gladiolus

54. Gerbera
•Gerberas with stems of 35-40 cm should be packed in lined boxes
• Flower heads protected by transparent card board cups, plastic mini
sleeves
•Properly packed to prevent bruising, crushing and discolouration
25 flowers per bunches wrapped in cellophane sleeves
Corrugated card board boxes 98 x 40 x 12 cm (l x w x h) 250-300 cut
flowers

55. CFB box

Box Dimensions
Stem
Length
Stem per bunch
Number of
bunches per box
Total Stems
100 cm X 45 cm X 20 cm 40 cm 10 stems 35 bunch 350 stems
100 cm X 45 cm X 21 cm 40 cm 10 stems 35 bunch 350 stems
For domestic market 3 ply corrugated boxes are used for Gerbera

58. Export packaging




Dipping of gerbera stem in water Corrugated box on conveyer belt

59. Domestic packaging of Gerbera in plastic sleeves and in boxes

60. 60
Standardization of export packing
technology for Jasmine sambac flowers

61. For local market
Packaging under gel-iced
condition
Export-Dubai and USA market

62. Chemical treatment of flowers
with 4% boric acid, packing in
aluminum-foil lined boxes
Packaging in thermocol boxes
under gel-ice cold condition
and recorded shelf life of
42.88h.
This package also recorded maximum
freshness index (70 to 90%),
minimum flower-opening index
(10.5 to 50%) and maximum colour
retention index (77.77 to 88.88%) of
flowers.
CBR was 1:2.5
Packaging technology for export
of jasmine (Jasminum sambac
Ait.) flowers

65. Jasminum multiflorum (Pink Kakada) Steps involved in postharvest chemical treatment of Jasminum multiflorum (Pink Kakada) flower buds

Flower buds of Jasminum
multiflorum (Pink Kakada)
Flower string Chemical treatment by
quick dip method
Air drying to remove excess
moisture


Aluminium foil box for
packing of flower strings
Placing tissue paper on
the aluminium foil box
Packing of treated flowers in aluminium foil box







Postharvest - flower buds treated with BAP 100 ppm and stored in cold storage (7
o
C)
increases shelf life up to 7 days

66. Grading
• Based on stalk length
• Length of rachis
• Number of flowers per spike
• Weight of spikes
• Flowers should be free from bruises, pest and
diseases
Tuberose
Packing and Transport

•long spikes in bundles; 100 spikes/bundle

•packed in rectangular bamboo baskets lined with Hessian cloth.

•For long distance transport, pack in corrugated cardboard boxes.

67. Export
Loose flowers
Tied flowers

68. •Essential part for orderly marketing
•Keep flowers fresh with temperature monitoring
Reason
–Enables extending the season
–Delaying marketing
•Possibility for long term shipments
•Eg: Long term storage – reduce energy cost – eliminating
winter production (temperate zones)
STORAGE

69. •Regulating market flow
•Reducing loss from demand decline
•Improving production efficiency
•Eliminating GH production in deep winter
•Making possible long-term shipments
ADVANTAGES - STORAGE

70. Factors affecting the storage life of cut flowers
Pre harvest growing conditions
Stage of development
Temperature
Precooling
Low temperature effects
Protection against ethylene
Relative humidity
Light
Ethylene
Chemical treatment
Decrease inn water content

71. Cold storage
Wet storage Dry storage
Controlled
atmospheric
storage
Modified
atmospheric
storage
Low pressure
storage
METHODS OF STORAGE

72. •Common method of storage
•Stable and uniform temp., RH, circulation of air and
sanitation of storage room

COLD STORAGE
Flowers Temperature (
0
C)
Temperate (rose & carnation) 0-1
Sub-tropical (gladiolus, sterlitzia, jasmine) 4-7
Tropical (anthurium, orchids, euphorbia) 7-15

75. Wet
storage
Cold
storage
methods
Dry
storage
Flower bases are kept in water
for short period
Flowers harvested in morning, graded and
sealed in plastic bags or boxes for longer
periods

76. •Long term storage
•Fresh flowers are harvested in the morning, graded and
sealed in plastic bags or boxes to prevent loss of moisture
•Saves space in storage room
•Pulsed with floral preservatives
•Before packing flowers should be wrapped in soft paper to
absorb condensed moisture appearing on plants

DRY STORAGE

77. •Stems are stored with their basal portions dipping in water or
preservative solution
•Used to hold flowers for short duration and for their day to
day handling
•The temperature in wet storage is 2-4°C i.e. slightly higher
than that in dry storage
•Used at commercial stage, intended directly for sale within 1-
2 days

WET STORAGE

78. Cut Flowers Temperature
(°C)
Period
Antirrhinum 13 4 weeks
Carnation 0-1 16-24
weeks
Cattleya 7-10 2 weeks
Dendrobium 5-7 2 weeks
gladiolus 4 4 weeks
Lily 1 6 weeks
Rose 0.5-3
2
1
2 weeks
4 days
3 weeks
Strelitzia 8 4 weeks
Tulip 0-1 8 weeks
Recommended dry storage
periods of some important cut
flowers
Cut Flowers Temperat
ure
(°C)
Period
Antirrhinum 4 4 weeks
Carnation 4 4 weeks
Chrysanthemum 1 3 weeks
Gladiolus 0.5-1.5
4-6
10 days
2-4 days
Gerbera 4 3-4 weeks
Lily 0-1 6 weeks
Rose 4
2
4 days
10 days
Tulip -0.5-0 2-3 days
Wet storage period and
optimum temperature of
some cut flowers

79. •Cut flowers are kept in gas tight cool chambers equipped
with cooling systems at higher level of CO
2 and lower level of
O
2 to reduce the respiration rate and production and action
of ethylene
•Excessive CO
2 released by plants - removed - special
scrubbers
–activated carbon
–caustic soda
–dry lime
–a molecular sieve or water

CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE (CA) STORAGE

80. Contd…
•Content of O
2 is regulated by a generator which burns O
2
from air
•It is costlier
•Useful for high value ornamental plants
•Concentration of CO
2 should be maintained higher than 4 %
and not below 0.4 %
• High concentration of CO
2 - controls disease infection
•Flower longevity was predicted by the ratio of ethanol
production to acetaldehyde production

81. CA storage of cut flowers

Flowers CO
2 (%) O
2 (%) Storage Temp
(°C)
Storage Period
(Days)
Carnation 5 1.3 0-1 30
Freesia 10 21 1-2 20-22
Gladiolus 5 1-3 1.5 21
Lily 10-20 21 1.0 21
Rose 5-10 1-3 0 20-30
Tulip 5 21 1 10

82. •MA storage is a less precise
•Dry storage of flowers in sealed bags leads to reduction in O
2
and increase in CO
2 levels due to respiration
•Very high levels of CO
2 cause damage to flowers
•Store flowers in partially permeable materials
MODIFIED ATMOSPHERIC STORAGE

83. •Plant materials are stored under reduced pressure, low
temperature and cooled moist air
•Gaseous substances like CO
2 and ethylene produced by plants
are removed from plants through stomata and intercellular
spaces
•40-60 mM Hg is useful for prolonging vase life of several cut
flowers


LOW PRESSURE STORAGE

84. Contd…
•Cut roses at 180-210 mM Hg pressure can be stored up to 3
weeks with retention of 63 % of original vase life

Storage Period (days)
Cold Storage Low Pressure
Storage
Carnation 10 91
Chrysanthemum 7-14 2
Rose 7-14 56