Melatonin Treatment Delays the Senescence of Cut Flowers of “Diguan” Tree Peony by Affecting Water Balance and Physiological Properties

Tree peony (<i>Paeonia suffruticosa</i> Andr.), which is a traditional flower cultivated in China, is rapidly becoming an important species in the cut flower industry. Thus, extending the vase life of tree peony cut flowers is a major goal in the cut flower industry. Melatonin, which is...

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Main Authors: Mengdi Wu, Peidong Zhang, Yuke Sun, Wenqian Shang, Liyun Shi, Shuiyan Yu, Songlin He, Yinglong Song, Zheng Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Horticulturae
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/2/181
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author Mengdi Wu
Peidong Zhang
Yuke Sun
Wenqian Shang
Liyun Shi
Shuiyan Yu
Songlin He
Yinglong Song
Zheng Wang
author_facet Mengdi Wu
Peidong Zhang
Yuke Sun
Wenqian Shang
Liyun Shi
Shuiyan Yu
Songlin He
Yinglong Song
Zheng Wang
author_sort Mengdi Wu
collection DOAJ
description Tree peony (<i>Paeonia suffruticosa</i> Andr.), which is a traditional flower cultivated in China, is rapidly becoming an important species in the cut flower industry. Thus, extending the vase life of tree peony cut flowers is a major goal in the cut flower industry. Melatonin, which is a new type of antioxidant, plays an important regulatory role in the preservation of cut flowers. Therefore, this study employed the cut flower of tree peony “Diguan” as the test material to investigate the preservative effects of the antioxidant melatonin on the cut flower of tree peony “Diguan”. We examined tree peony cut flowers in terms of their morphology, lifespan, relative fresh weight, relative diameter, and water balance value after treatments with different melatonin concentrations (0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 mg·L<sup>−1</sup>) to select the optimal treatment concentration. Considered together, these analyses clarified the effects of melatonin on the preservation of “Diguan” tree peony cut flowers. Specifically, the exogenous application of melatonin positively affected the preservation of tree peony cut flowers by improving the water balance value and increasing the soluble protein content and antioxidant enzyme activities, thereby prolonging the ornamental period of tree peony cut flowers. The fresh weight of flower branches is significantly positively correlated with soluble protein, and cut flower lifespan increases with the values of soluble protein and the fresh weight of flower branches, with a large correlation coefficient. It can be used as an important indicator to measure cut flower lifespan in subsequent research. The 0.4 mg L<sup>−1</sup> melatonin treatment was optimal for preserving tree peony cut flowers because of its positive effects on the duration of the ornamental period and ornamental quality.
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publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher MDPI AG
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spelling doaj-art-7f0d5066915b4722b1c813d9e2afc9cf2025-08-20T02:44:50ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242025-02-0111218110.3390/horticulturae11020181Melatonin Treatment Delays the Senescence of Cut Flowers of “Diguan” Tree Peony by Affecting Water Balance and Physiological PropertiesMengdi Wu0Peidong Zhang1Yuke Sun2Wenqian Shang3Liyun Shi4Shuiyan Yu5Songlin He6Yinglong Song7Zheng Wang8College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450003, ChinaCollege of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450003, ChinaCollege of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450003, ChinaCollege of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450003, ChinaCollege of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450003, ChinaShanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, ChinaCollege of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450003, ChinaCollege of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450003, ChinaCollege of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450003, ChinaTree peony (<i>Paeonia suffruticosa</i> Andr.), which is a traditional flower cultivated in China, is rapidly becoming an important species in the cut flower industry. Thus, extending the vase life of tree peony cut flowers is a major goal in the cut flower industry. Melatonin, which is a new type of antioxidant, plays an important regulatory role in the preservation of cut flowers. Therefore, this study employed the cut flower of tree peony “Diguan” as the test material to investigate the preservative effects of the antioxidant melatonin on the cut flower of tree peony “Diguan”. We examined tree peony cut flowers in terms of their morphology, lifespan, relative fresh weight, relative diameter, and water balance value after treatments with different melatonin concentrations (0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 mg·L<sup>−1</sup>) to select the optimal treatment concentration. Considered together, these analyses clarified the effects of melatonin on the preservation of “Diguan” tree peony cut flowers. Specifically, the exogenous application of melatonin positively affected the preservation of tree peony cut flowers by improving the water balance value and increasing the soluble protein content and antioxidant enzyme activities, thereby prolonging the ornamental period of tree peony cut flowers. The fresh weight of flower branches is significantly positively correlated with soluble protein, and cut flower lifespan increases with the values of soluble protein and the fresh weight of flower branches, with a large correlation coefficient. It can be used as an important indicator to measure cut flower lifespan in subsequent research. The 0.4 mg L<sup>−1</sup> melatonin treatment was optimal for preserving tree peony cut flowers because of its positive effects on the duration of the ornamental period and ornamental quality.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/2/181tree peonycut flowerantioxidantmelatoninpreservation
spellingShingle Mengdi Wu
Peidong Zhang
Yuke Sun
Wenqian Shang
Liyun Shi
Shuiyan Yu
Songlin He
Yinglong Song
Zheng Wang
Melatonin Treatment Delays the Senescence of Cut Flowers of “Diguan” Tree Peony by Affecting Water Balance and Physiological Properties
Horticulturae
tree peony
cut flower
antioxidant
melatonin
preservation
title Melatonin Treatment Delays the Senescence of Cut Flowers of “Diguan” Tree Peony by Affecting Water Balance and Physiological Properties
title_full Melatonin Treatment Delays the Senescence of Cut Flowers of “Diguan” Tree Peony by Affecting Water Balance and Physiological Properties
title_fullStr Melatonin Treatment Delays the Senescence of Cut Flowers of “Diguan” Tree Peony by Affecting Water Balance and Physiological Properties
title_full_unstemmed Melatonin Treatment Delays the Senescence of Cut Flowers of “Diguan” Tree Peony by Affecting Water Balance and Physiological Properties
title_short Melatonin Treatment Delays the Senescence of Cut Flowers of “Diguan” Tree Peony by Affecting Water Balance and Physiological Properties
title_sort melatonin treatment delays the senescence of cut flowers of diguan tree peony by affecting water balance and physiological properties
topic tree peony
cut flower
antioxidant
melatonin
preservation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/2/181
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