The goal of this experiment was to evaluate the influence of temperature on respiration and ethylene production of cut flowers of Consolida ajacis and to determine if the CO2 production could be used as index to predict the flower longevity. The inflorescences were harvested and stored at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, e 40 ºC until complete senescence. The flower respiration and ethylene production showed similar temporal variation with the increase on the temperature, reaching maximal production of 1854 mL CO2 kg-1 h-1 and 11.28 mL C2H4 kg-1 h-1 under 30 ºC e 40 ºC, respectively. The Q10 factor between 5 and 30ºC ranged from 1.11 to 2.89, similar to other horticultural products. The flower longevity was negative related to the increase of temperature between 5 and 30 ºC. The estimated vase life was reduced from 11.9 to 4.1 days when the storage temperature was increased from 5 to 30 ºC. Flowers kept at 35 and 40 ºC had similar longevity to those stored at 30 ºC.
flower; Q10 factor; senescence; storage; vase life
