Ethylene Sensitive chart

[Williee Armellini]

This is Handy thing to print out and keep around. Compliments of Chrysal.


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[hopeful]

No particular need for this chart.

All flowers and plants are ethylene sensitive. And ethylene damage increases tremendously with higher temperatures and concentrations of ethylene.

All flowers should be protected against the effects of ethylene with silver thiosulphate (Ethyl-bloc is far less effective) and with proper cool chain management which decreases ethylene damage significantly.

[Williee Armellini]

Now that was a bit cynical don't you think? Granted there needs to be more but there are many that care even if not to the degree in which you preach.

[hopeful]

It wasn't a bit cynical. It was totally cynical and I have modified my post.

[Williee Armellini]

that was very adult of you! You get a gold aster today!

What are you seeing at the Mass Market level?

[hopeful]

I'll be giving regular store-level reports soon.  Stay tuned.........

[fairchild247]

Related to ethylene, of the farms who claim that they treat their flowers with STS, what % of them do you think actually do it properly?  (I know I should be using Staby's ripe apple test to verify this, but I never seem to have time to set it up.)

[Williee Armellini]

Is that the test where you get to put an apple on your head and your grower shoot a stem (= arrow) and if it hits that mark it was used right if not you get to shot back?

[hopeful]

fairchild,

My experience with STS is that few growers use it properly. Florcontrol used to do grower training down there, but it's really difficult to know for sure without auditing each farm. If it is mixed to manufacturer's instructions it should always work, but growers tend to mix too low a dose or try to re-use mixed solutions to save money.

The apple test involves putting (distressed or very ripe) apples (an ethylene generator) under overturned buckets. Then untreated flowers are placed under one bucket and treated flowers under the other. After a period of time (a day or two should be enough) the flowers are examined for ethylene damage. The untreated flowers should have visual damage, the treated flowers not.

I visit hundreds of stores and have seen widespread indications of ethylene damage.

[fairchild247]

It seems that Staby's advice is still valid...when in doubt, treat.  It can't hurt to treat a second time, and most growers either aren't doing it, or aren't doing it correctly.

[hopeful]

A good policy.

The most common misconception I encounter about ethylene damage is that roses are not ethylene sensitive.

They are and should be treated.

[ozflower]

The silver in the STS treatment is bad for your health or your workers' heatlh. Ethybloc works but you can not rotate the product as it protects for a week only. Ethylbloc does not protect the bud which open in transit.
STS will proctect for two weeks. Ethylbloc does not work without proper cool chain while STS does.

[hopeful]

Sorry Oz, but STS is perfectly safe for anyone using it.

Years of study by the EPA (no friend to chemicals) found the only negative to human heath was argyria a graying of the complection but that was after consuming more silver than the entire floral industry would use in a year, and no one is going to consume STS out of a bucket.

In fact, silver has medicinal properties and has a long history of medical usage:

http://www.silverinstitute.org/medical_applications.php

This myth doesn't go away similarly to the myth that poinsettias are poisonous. But rest assured, STS is safe.

Your other ethylene treatment information is accurate.

[fairchild247]

Hopeful, that's very useful info.  I had heard conflicting reports on that for years.  I assume your info is correct, and we can use STS without worry.  That's well worth the membership fee that I pay to F&C.   The Chrysal product comes with a chemical to neutralize it before discarding.  Any thoughts on that?

[hopeful]

fairchild,

That is a different issue, having to do with the regulation of silver in waste disposal. Heavy silver users such as the photographic industry have been restricted in some communities because STS (a byproduct of the photographic process)in huge discharges could be harmful to bacteria used in sewage treatment plants (silver is an effective biocide.)

Floral treatment companies have been very cautious over the years when it comes to silver even though the silver contained in buckets and vases is well below any regulative levels I've ever seen. Chrysal is covering their bases, but you can always get the local water regulations and see what the limits are yourself. They will normally follow the EPA's standard of 3 parts per million which is higher than the tiny amount of silver you would be disposing of.