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Saturday, Mar 24, 2007
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Floriculture Agri-Biz & Commodities - New Products & Services Quest for the perfect rose Alka Kshirsagar
President's gesture Anyone attempting to develop a rose that had both extended vase life, as well as a sweet smell would have three hectares in the sprawling grounds of the Rashtrapati Bhavan for the experiment.
Pune March 23 French company Meilland has unveiled Amelia, a brand new rose variety here. Deep red on the outside, bordering on pink as it unfolds, 60 cm stem, good shelf life; the gold standard, so to say, for the commercially ideal rose. With one corollary: the quest for a rose that looks good, lasts long and smells divine continues. In fact, the rose-dominated, cut flower (floriculture) industry today is confronted by a peculiar dilemma: fragrance vs vase life, and as things stand today, it seems to be one at the cost of the other. Either you have a sweet smelling rose that wilts within a couple of days, or the long limbed (stemmed!) beauty that last for days but is devoid of the very essence that sets it apart as Prima Donna of the flower world: fragrance. That perhaps was the challenge that the President, Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, threw at researchers in the flower business at the Flora Expo 2006 last year. Anyone attempting to develop a rose that have both an extended vase life and sweet smell would have three hectares in the sprawling grounds of the Rashtrapati Bhavan for the experiment. No one has responded yet.
Ageing culprit
The culprit, it seems, is the ethylene gas that is emitted by the flower, which speeds up the ageing - in fruits this is the ripening - process. So addressing the issue is to "switch off the gene" that "senses" the presence of ethylene and consequently slow down ageing. While the business of lulling genes into complacency might still be some time away, a very good way to start is to enhance the vase life of cut roses. The chemical silver thio sulphate added to water is a good life enhancer, but several developed countries have banned the product as environmentally polluting. A couple of companies - Moerhein of Holland and Germini of India - are set to launch products with similar end use at the forthcoming Flora Expo 07 in September. So till the rose gene is decoded, and the perfect marriage of vase-life and fragrance executed, chemical boosters will have to do the trick!
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