At 8:51 PM 1/30/97 -0800, Thomas Reale wrote:
>I wonder if I could get some help with one of my student's science fair
>projects. She is comparing water, water with asprin, and water with
>comercial flower food, to see which best extends the "life" of cut
>flowers. I need to find some written resource material to help her
>explain why the cut flowers continue to absorb water and what affect if
>any the additives might have on the plant life
Thomas,
I really don't have good references at my fingertips today,
but studying vase life in Carnations and Roses has been
an area of intense interest and publication in horticulture
journals (J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci., Hortscience etc). Most
of the effective treatments work on two fronts: controlling
microbes that "clog" the xylem and thereby cut-off the water
supply to the flower (it wilts). Hydroquinone and other
bacteriostatic agents do this. The other treatments deal
with blocking ethylene synthesis or ethylene reception. Cobalt
ions, silver thiosulfate, aminoethoxyvinylglycine, and other
agents function in this way. Some additives also include
sucrose or dextrose as a substrate for floral respiration.
I would like to recommend one book for you:
Plant Biology Science Projects by David R. Hershey,
John Wiley & Sons, New York. It was published in
1995 (ISBN 0-471-04983-2) and has a nice range of
projects to do and a closing section on projects
to avoid. It is well written and very practical.
ross
_______________________________________________________________
Ross Koning | koning at ecsu.ctstateu.edu
Biology Department | http://koning.ecsu.ctstateu.edu/
Eastern CT State University | phone: 860-465-5327
Willimantic, CT 06226 USA | fax: 860-465-4479
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