People working at home during the pandemic rediscover the benefit of adding foliation plants to heighten their work environment . sale of these long - lasting plants surged dramatically during 2020 and 2021 . During this time period and in the past , supplier had discover some problems with leafage drop and foliage edge burn — symptoms that are assort with dry out , exposure to temperature extreme point , and , significantly , ethene damage .
Most foliage plant are grown in the tender climates of Florida , Texas and California and embark throughout the U.S. for sale at garden center , big box stores , and supermarkets . plant may be exposed to long geological period of dark , temperature extremes , and vibration during transport and storehouse , some of which may trigger national ethylene production in the plant . store in supermarket distribution centers may also display plants to high ethene concentration from the motor exhaust fumes and/or ripen produce .
Although long recognized for its damaging impression on peak , ethylene has not been considered a serious problem on foliation industrial plant , but some plants are in particular sensible , and ask discourse to foreclose damage . enquiry at the University of Florida ( Powered by FloraLige ) judge the ethylene sensitiveness of 20 democratic foliage plants and demo the value of Ethylbloc ™ treatment to preclude symptom of ethene damage .
Table 1.Symptoms of Ethylene Damage on Popular Foliage Plants
MethodTwenty foliation plant life ( mesa 1 ) were test for ethylene sensitivity . plant were obtain from commercial growers and expose to four levels of ethene ( 0 , 0.1 , 1 , and 10 ppm ) for four days at 70F ( 21C ) in the dark . After closing of the discussion , plants were maintained at 70F ( 21C ) , 50%+/- 10 % humidness , and 75 human foot candles of light for 12 minute daily . We document flora and leaf caliber every 2 days .
In subsequent trials , we treated flora evidence to be ethene - sensible with 1 - MCP ( EthylBloc ) and then exposed them to ethylene as described above . A control group of plants were not address with Ethylbloc but were display to ethylene . Plants were appraise for plant life and leaf timbre every two days .
ResultsThe symptoms of ethene wrong varied widely in the leaf plant essay , including leaf yellowing , leaf drop , and marginal foliage necrosis ( Table 1 ) .
Ethylene reduced the video display living of 15 of the 20 potted leafage plant life by cause leaf pearl or leafage yellowing . Seven plants had folio drop while leaf yellow and/or browning ( Table 1 ) occurred on eight other sensitive genotypes ( Figure 1 ) ( Aglaonema ‘ Mary Ann ’ , Anthurium scherzerianum ‘ Red Hot ’ , Chlorophytum comosum ‘ Hawaiian ’ , Dieffenbachia maculata ‘ Carina ’ , Dracaena marginata ‘ Bicolor ’ and ‘ Magenta ’ , Euphorbia splendens ‘ unforesightful and Sweet ’ , Spathiphyllum ‘ Ty ’s Pride ’ ) . ethene treatment also accelerated ageing ( i.e. , browning ) of the spadix and the fence in spathe on Anthurium scherzerianum ‘ Red Hot ’ and ‘ White Gemini ’ . There was no grounds of leaf epinasty on any of the genotypes after photograph to ethylene . The five genotype that remained insensitive to ethylene were Asplenium nidus , Chamaedorea elegans ‘ Neathe Bella ’ , Hedera spiral ‘ Chicago ’ , and Syngonium genus Podophyllum ‘ White Butterfly ’ .
Figure 2 . Aphelandra plant with no treatment ( left ) , handle with EthylBloc as a one - time treatment ( 0.9 µL / L- for 5 hour at 21C ) , Center plant , or using an EthylBloc sachet in a merchant marine loge for 3 solar day at 14C ( right ) . All plants were handle with ethylene at 1 µL / L - for 4 daytime at 21C follow the three treatments . ( In physical body 2 and 3 , the effect of EthylBloc apply as a one - time handling for 6 hours at 70F ( 21C ) or as a sachet in transportation box for 3 days at 57F ( 14C ) are prove . )
keep Ethylene DamageEthylBloc minimizes damage to foliage plants endanger to ethene , whether environmental or intimate . We treat industrial plant with EthylBloc ™ before exposing the plants to ethylene or to fresh line with no ethene . EthylBloc treatments were successful in protecting ethene - raw leaf plants from damage , including leaf driblet and yellow ( Figures 1 and 3 ) . treat the three most sore foliage plants ( Aglaonema ‘ Mary Ann ’ , Polyscias fruticosa ‘ Castor ’ , and Schefflera arboricola ‘ Gold Capella ’ ) plant with Ethylbloc for 4 h at 70F ( 21C ) lour leaf drop to near zero . All other works showed no ethylene symptoms following EthylBloc pre - treatments .
Figure 3 . Schefflera arboricola plants with no handling ( left ) , treat with EthylBloc as a one - time handling ( 0.9 µL / L- for 5 60 minutes at 21C ) , Center plant , or using an EthylBloc sachet in a cargo ships box for 3 day at 14C ( right ) . All plant life were care for with ethylene at 1 µL / L - for 4 days at 21C travel along the three treatments . ( In physical body 2 and 3 , the core of EthylBloc applied as a one - fourth dimension treatment for 6 time of day at 70F ( 21C ) or as a sachet in transportation box for 3 days at 57F ( 14C ) are show . )
terminal observationsSome foliage works are damage by exposure to ethene . Seventy - five percent of the plants tested show some level of ethylene sensitiveness . The same symptom can be make by dry out and exposure to temperature extreme , but it is significant not to overlook ethene exposure as another possible cause . Our result advise that discourse with EthylBloc is a valuable tool for maximizing the marketability of foliage plants .
Acknowledgements : The assistance of Andrew Macnish Ria Leonard is greatly appreciated . And , the support of the National Foliage Foundation ( now the National Horticulture Foundation ) helped to support this project .
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