Growth of in vitro–regenerated plants of Gerbera jamesonii following micropropagation in temporary immersion bioreactors

Gerbera represents one of the top five most important traditional cut flowers. A major factor influencing the success of the cut flower industry is vase life which in turn has a significant influence on consumer preference. Therefore, the present study considered the effect of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) supplied in temporary immersion bioreactors (TIBs) on the growth and subsequent shelf life of gerbera flowers. The results showed an initial lag in the growth of plantlets produced from tissue culture, but this effect was reversed by the end of the study, particularly for plants exposed to AgNPs. Although AgNPs did not shorten the time to flowering (67 d in control plants compared with 73 d in AgNPs-treated plants), flower characteristics were not adversely affected by this delay. A significant finding from this study was the observation of improved vase life of flowers grown from plants treated with AgNPs (9.8 d) relative to control plants (8.2 d). This indicated the potential of AgNPs to sustain the longevity of cut flowers after harvest.