Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp2 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Optimising techniques for high-quality preservation of hybrid Rose cv. ‘Minu Parle’: Physicochemical, sensory and multivariate insights

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.13182
Submitted
12 December 2025
Published
22-04-2026

Abstract

Flower preservation is an important value-addition strategy in commercial floriculture, particularly for short-lived ornamentals such as roses. This study evaluated 5 chemical formulations comprising ethanol, acetone, acetic acid, citric acid and glycerine to optimise the preservation of Hybrid rose cv. ‘Minu Parle’. Flowers were processed through depigmentation, re-pigmentation and silica-gel drying at 40 °C, followed by assessment of moisture content, dry weight, texture, colour absorption and overall appearance. Significant differences among treatments (P < 0.05) were recorded. Among the tested formulations, the multi-solvent combination of ethanol + acetone + acetic acid + glycerine (T5) consistently produced superior results. Flowers treated with T5 exhibited the lowest residual moisture (13.25 %) compared with T1 treatment having maximum moisture (18.08%), higher dry weight retention (2.99 g ) and maximum textural stability (3.75 out of 5), along with the highest dye absorption (4.75 mL) and most appealing aesthetic quality (3.58 out of 5) during storage. Texture score in T5 (3.75) was nearly 2 times higher than T1(1.75). Correlation analysis identified moisture content as the primary factor negatively influencing texture and appearance, while Principal Component Analysis showed that moisture-driven variation accounted for the majority of total variance, clearly separating treatments based on quality attributes. The enhanced performance of T5 appears to result from the synergistic dehydrating ability of ethanol-acetone coupled with humectant action of glycerine. Overall, the study establishes an efficient, reproducible and commercially viable multi-solvent protocol for producing high-quality preserved roses, offering significant potential for adoption in floriculture-based value-addition and dry flower industries.

References

  1. 1. Rezai S, Nikbakht A, Zarei H, Sabzalian MR. Physiological, biochemical, and postharvest characteristics of two cut rose cultivars are regulated by various supplemental light sources. Sci Hortic. 2023;313:111934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2023.111934
  2. 2. Patel SS, Fatmi U. Evaluation of hybrid tea roses (Rosa hybrida) under Prayagraj agroclimatic conditions. Pharm Innov J. 2021;10(12):991-95.
  3. 3. Bhattacharjee SK, De LC. Advanced Commercial Floriculture. 2nd ed. Jaipur: Aavishkar Publishers; 2010.
  4. 4. Dutta JP, Singh KP. Drying techniques for ornamental flowers: a review. Ornam Hortic. 2019;25(1):20-28.
  5. 5. Datta SK. Technology for dry flower making. NBRI Bull. 1996;1(1):1-8.
  6. 6. Raju DV, Jayanthi R. Moisture reduction and quality stabilization in dehydrated flowers. J Appl Hortic. 2004;6(1):52-54.
  7. 7. Lambert L, Lambert S. The Vermont process for preserved flowers. Florists Rev. 1989;12:45-48.
  8. 8. Yim KM, Zieslin N. Polyethylene glycol-based preservation techniques in roses. Sci Hortic. 1991;48(1-2):171-79.
  9. 9. Kim JH, Lee JS. Polymer-assisted flower preservation technology. Acta Hortic. 1992;343:219-26.
  10. 10. Takahashi T. Modern preserved flower technology: chemical and polymer approaches. J Appl Bot Food Qual. 1991;65:121-28.
  11. 11. Raol JB, Kumpavat MT, Vyas DM. Drying characteristics of rose flowers. J Agric Eng. 2013;50(1):39-46. https://doi.org/10.52151/jae2013501.1503
  12. 12. Narjinary M, Mandal Khan A, Maitra S, Sarkar I, Pal PK. Qualitative traits of dry rose flowers ‘Taj Mahal’ as influenced by dehydration methods. Int J Plant Soil Sci. 2021;33(17):173-82. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijpss/2021/v33i1730562
  13. 13. Pinder R, Namita N. Influence of dehydration techniques on colour retention and related traits of gerbera (Gerbera hybrida) flowers. Indian J Agric Sci. 2018;88(5):733-36. https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v88i5.80066
  14. 14. Chandana S, Chandan S, Malam VR. Examining the influence of drying methods and desiccants on the physical attributes of dried roses. Int J Adv Biochem Res. 2024;8(2):697-701. https://doi.org/10.33545/26174693.2024.v8.i2i.660
  15. 15. Singh A, Sisodia A. Solvent treatments for dry flower quality improvement. Indian J Agric Sci. 2018;88(4):567-71.
  16. 16. Martin JP, Ruberté R. Ethanol-based pigment extraction in rose petals. Bot Gaz. 1978;139(2):198-203.
  17. 17. Koren E, Spooner ET. Decolourization of petals with graded solvents. J Plant Physiol. 1987;128:83–90.
  18. 18. Dhanalakshmi K, Ramesh S. Re-pigmentation techniques in dehydrated flowers. J Ornam Hortic Plants. 2010;6(3):147-50.
  19. 19. Ranjan JK, Misra RL. Silica-gel drying techniques for flowers. Indian Floric. 2002;5(3):33-37.
  20. 20. Gupta MN. Methods in Dry Flower Technology. New Delhi: Allied Publishers; 1999.
  21. 21. Vethamoni PI, Nanthakumar S. Texture scoring scale for dehydrated flowers. South Indian Hortic. 2002;50(3-4):333-37.
  22. 22. Gomez KA, Gomez AA. Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley; 1984.
  23. 23. Singh A, Sisodia A. Solvent effects on moisture loss in rose petals. Indian J Agric Sci. 2018;88(4):567-71.
  24. 24. Malakar K, Banerji BK. Moisture dynamics in acetone-treated flowers. J Ornam Hortic. 2001;4(2):75-80.
  25. 25. Reddy BS, Devi S. Dehydration efficiency of organic solvents in ornamentals. J Trop Agric. 2004;42(2):55-59.
  26. 26. Hemalatha V, Vidhya R. Moisture behaviour in solvent-assisted dry flowers. Plant Arch. 2016;16(2):715-20.
  27. 27. Kapoor R, Singh K. Moisture reduction patterns using ethanol-acetone mixtures. J Plant Sci Res. 1999;15(1):46-50.
  28. 28. Devi S, Samuel D. Solvent penetration and moisture diffusion in florals. J Agric Technol. 2003;9(2):89-94.
  29. 29. Kumar K, Kumar S. Dry weight stability in oven-dried ornamentals. Hortic Int J. 2017;1(2):45-50.
  30. 30. Gantait S, Mandal N. Role of acetone in replacing cytoplasmic water in dried florals. Sci Hortic. 2010;125:620-25.
  31. 31. Vethamoni PI, Nanthakumar S. Texture scoring methods for dried flowers. South Indian Hortic. 2002;50(3-4):333-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-7012(02)00092-1
  32. 32. Datta SK. Glycerine-induced texture improvement in dry flowers. NBRI Bull. 1996;1:1–8.
  33. 33. Malakar K, Banerji BK. Pigment extraction efficiency in acetone-grown rose petals. J Ornam Hortic. 2001;4:72-76.
  34. 34. Jawaharlal M, et al. Dye uptake patterns in solvent-treated flowers. South Indian Hortic. 1998;46:120-25.
  35. 35. Dhanalakshmi K, Ramesh S. Colour infusion in dehydrated florals. J Ornam Hortic Plants. 2010;6(3):147-50.
  36. 36. Kim JH, Lee JS. Multivariate quality determination in preserved flowers. Acta Hortic. 1992;343:219-26.
  37. 37. Takahashi T. PCA-based evaluation of preserved flower attributes. J Appl Bot Food Qual. 1991;65:121-28.
  38. 38. Singh KP, Dutta JP. PCA analysis of dry flower traits. Ornam Hortic. 2019;25(1):20-28.
  39. 39. Srinivasan V, Jawaharlal M. Multivariate evaluation of dehydration treatments in roses. J Hortic Sci. 2010;5(2):1333-38.
  40. 40. Roy S, Ghosh A. PCA in chrysanthemum drying studies. Plant Sci Today. 2016;3(4):312-18.
  41. 41. Ahmad N, Khan M. Quality traits in statice assessed by PCA. Bangladesh J Bot. 2015;44(2):279-86.
  42. 42. Baral B, Shrestha S. Drying response analysis in zinnia. Nepal J Agric Sci. 2018;16:45-53.
  43. 43. Gantait S, Mandal N. PCA models in preserved rose studies. Sci Hortic. 2008;118:72-78.
  44. 44. Chanda S, Mukherjee A. PCA-based floral quality assessment in gerbera. J Floric Sci. 2011;23(2):45-52.
  45. 45. Hemalatha V, Vidhya R. Glycerine combinations in statice dehydration. Plant Arch. 2016;16(2):720-25.
  46. 46. Kumar K, Sagar P. Humectant effects in chrysanthemum drying. Hortic Int J. 2017;1(3):66-72.
  47. 47. Acharya L, Agrawal S. Humectant-assisted preservation in roses. Ornamentals Today. 2015;10(1):22-28.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.