Abstract
The main goals of this study was to evaluate the effects of ethanol and essential oils of three medicinal plants namely Thymus vulgaris, Satureja hortensis and Carum copticum on extending Dianthus caryophyllus cut flower vase life. For this purpose three individual trials were conducted using a completely randomized design with three replications. In the first trial, effects of ethanol 4% (v/v) applied continuous and pulse was determined and results are showed both applying methods increased postharvest life and consumer acceptance of cut flowers. In the second trial, effects of essential oils of Thymus vulgaris, Satureja hortensis and Carum copticum with concentrations of 50, 100 and 150 ppm were investigated. All essential oil treatments prolonged cut flowers vase life. The line graph illustrates the amount of vase life which is showing a dramatic increase by S. hortensis EO (100 ppm) over control. The third trial studied the interactions between ethanol and the essential oil treatments. Results showed no significant difference in vase life and consumer acceptance between essential oil treatments and co-treatment of essential oil with ethanol. The highest relative fresh weight in sixth day from the start of the experiment was observed in Satureja hortensis EO treatment with concentration of 100 ppm which was nearly two times more than control. According to our results of this experiment we can generally say essential oils as natural, safe and biodegradable compounds can be suitable novel alternative methods for chemical treatment in order to prolong vase life of Dianthus caryophyllus cut flowers. Commercialization of these compounds for optimum formulations needs further experiments.

Keywords: Essential oils, Vascular blockage, Carnation cut flower, Vase life