The effect of calcium nano-chelated sprays on physiological, morphological ‎parameters and vase life of gerbera

In order to investigate the effect of various concentrations of nano-chelated calcium (0, 2 and 3 g/l) on growth, morphological parameters and vase life of three gerbera cultivars in hydroponic system, a factorial experiment based on compelitly randomized design with three replications was carried out. The results showed that nano-chelated calcium treatment increases the post-harvest vase life of gerbera cut flower. The highest vase life (10 days) belonged in 3 l/g of nano-chelated calcium in Intense cultivar and the lowest vase life (5 days) was observed in control Amlet cultivar. By nano - chelated calcium spraying the calcium content in the treated plants increased compared to the control plants. There was a positive relationship between the application of nano-chelated calcium and increased photosynthetic pigment, relative leaves water content, soluble carbohydrate content and stomata conduction, while there was no positive relationship between nano-chelated calcium and proline. However, in different growth factors, there was no significant difference between two levels of 2 g/l and 3g/l. Therefore 2 g/l nano-chelated calcium treatment before harvesting is recommended to improve the growth conditions as well as to improve the post-harvest survival of gerbera cut flower.