Harvest and Post-Harvest Handling of Rose (Rosa hybrid L.) as Cut Flower at Paul van der Hulst Rozenkwekerij BV, Limburg, The Netherlands

Abstract

Rose has a beautiful appearance and distinctive fragrant aroma. Rose is called the queen of flower. Rose can be used as a cut flower, garden flower, rose petals, and as cosmetic ingredient. Rose plants have many functions including food and beverage ingredients, fragrance, traditional equipment, religious ceremonies, and for indoor decoration. The problem which is often experienced in cut flower especially rose is very short of flower vase life. The efforts that can be done to increase flower production both in quality and quantity are to learn how to handle harvest and post-harvest rose properly and correctly. This internship aims to learn about harvest and post-harvest handling of rose in the Netherlands. The data that had been collected was analyzed quantitatively and descriptively. The data was taken of two varieties, namely Jumilia and Karenza The data that had been collected was analyzed quantitatively and descriptively. The primary and secondary quantitative (numeric) data was analyzed by quantitative analysis using the mean and standard error with Microsoft Office Excel 2013 and t-student test at 5% level with Minitab 16.2.1. The qualitative data was analyzed by using descriptive analysis. The criteria for roses that ready to be harvested are the center of the flower is already slightly open and the petals are little blooms. The techniques to cut rose that ready to be harvested are by cutting the stem and leaving 1-2 cm from node of the plant that are ready to be harvested, and from the first to the third harvest is done by leaving 3 to 4 nodes to increase productivity. Roses vase life in Paul van der Hulst Rozenkwekerij BV were determined by knowing the best time to harvest roses and how to store roses in the cold storage room. The vase life of roses is affected by the cultivar. Jumilia cultivar has a bigger flower and stem length size than Karenza cultivar. The vase life of Jumilia cultivar is longer than Karenza cultivar.