author(s)
Aditya Singh, Navaldey Bharti and Sarita Devi Gupta

abstract
A study was\r\nconducted to assess the post-harvest quality of gladiolus spikes under\r\ndifferent vase solutions at the Horticulture Research Laboratory, Department of\r\nHorticulture at Kamla Nehru Institute of Physical & Social Sciences,\r\nSultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, in the year 2025. The experiment was performed\r\nin Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with nine treatments replicated three\r\ntimes, T₁ (2% sucrose), T₂ (4% sucrose), T₃ (6%\r\nsucrose), T₄ (8% sucrose), T₅ (2% sucrose + citric acid @\r\n15ppm), T₆ (4% sucrose + citric acid @ 30ppm), T₇ (6%\r\nsucrose + citric acid @ 45ppm), T₈ (8% sucrose+ citric acid @ 60ppm),\r\nT₉ (distilled water). Among the treatments, the vase solution T₇\r\ncontaining 6% sucrose + citric acid @ 45ppm demonstrated the highest absorption\r\nof vase solution, prolonged basal floret senescence and achieved the highest\r\nflower opening percentage, least fresh weight loss at 12 days, and longevity.\r\nThis was followed by the treatment T₅ with 2% sucrose + citric acid\r\n@ 15ppm. The shortest vase life of spike was observed in treatment T₉,\r\nwhich consisted of distilled water. Based on these findings, the combination of\r\n2% sucrose + citric acid @ 15ppm was identified as the most effective vase\r\nsolution for extending the vase life of gladiolus.