Many people have always been puzzled about why some flower shops have fresh flowers available throughout the year. Part of the reason lies in the development of greenhouse flower cultivation technology, and on the other hand, the preservation cold storage plays a role. Generally, large flower shops will have their own cold storage to store fresh flowers. If fresh flowers are not preserved, they will wither easily. So, how exactly are fresh flowers stored? Xueyun will tell you three techniques for the storage and preservation of fresh flowers.

1. Temperature-controlled Storage and Preservation

It can be divided into simple storage and preservation, cold storage and preservation, and controlled freezing point storage and preservation. Simple storage and preservation makes use of the local natural conditions to create a suitable temperature and humidity for fresh flowers and green plants, achieving the purpose of preserving them. The drawback is that the humidity is not easy to control. In addition, attention should also be paid to ventilation. Cold storage and preservation involves installing freezing mechanical equipment in a warehouse with good thermal insulation performance. According to the requirements of different types of fresh flowers and green plants, the temperature, humidity, and ventilation in the warehouse are controlled to achieve the purpose of preserving them. It is currently one of the main storage methods for fresh flowers and green plants. In recent years, the cold storage technology has been continuously improved and developed. New cold storage buildings, loading and unloading equipment, and automated cold storage are constantly emerging. Computer technology has also begun to penetrate into automated cold storage. Fresh flowers and green plants preserved by the controlled freezing point storage method have a good appearance and bright colors. This method has already been applied in some regions, and in the near future, the controlled freezing point storage and preservation method will be widely promoted and implemented on a large scale.

2. Modified Atmosphere Storage and Preservation

It is divided into Ca modified atmosphere storage and preservation, MA modified atmosphere storage and preservation, plastic film tent modified atmosphere storage and preservation, and MAP preservation method. The so-called Ca modified atmosphere storage and preservation is to use mechanical equipment to artificially control the gas in the cold storage to achieve the purpose of preserving fresh flowers and green plants. If this method is combined with low temperature, the effect is significantly better than ordinary cold storage. Currently, the modified atmosphere storage and preservation in China's cold storage is still in the development stage. MA modified atmosphere storage and preservation means that according to the nature of the fruits and the needs of preservation, different proportions of gases are filled into the fruit packaging containers to extend their shelf life. The commonly used gases mainly include carbon dioxide and oxygen. Currently, there are mainly two types of MA modified atmosphere packaging for fresh flowers and green plants in the international market: passive modified atmosphere packaging and active modified atmosphere packaging. However, due to its complex technology and high requirements for the variety and performance of packaging materials, it has not been widely implemented in China. Plastic film tent modified atmosphere storage and preservation is to place fresh flowers and green plants in a sealed environment created by plastic film tents to achieve modified atmosphere preservation. There are mainly two methods of modified atmosphere, namely the natural oxygen method and the artificial oxygen method. This method is mainly applied in the United States and France. Currently, it has already been applied in several big cities in China, such as Tianjin, Shanghai, and Beijing. MAP preservation is a kind of packaging that first evacuates the vacuum and then fills with a mixed gas, which has just started to be applied in the field of fresh flower and green plant preservation.

3. Hypobaric Storage and Preservation and High-pressure Preservation

Hypobaric storage and preservation involves placing fresh flowers and green plants in a sealed warehouse, using a vacuum pump to extract most of the air, reducing the internal pressure to about 10KPa, creating a low-oxygen environment, and the partial pressure of gases such as ethylene is also correspondingly reduced. During the storage period, a constant low pressure is maintained, with a temperature of 1-18°C and a relative humidity of over 95%. This method can reduce the respiration intensity of the fruits, thus delaying the ripening and aging of the fruits and extending the shelf life. However, the investment in building a large-scale hypobaric storage warehouse is relatively large, and it is currently in the experimental stage in China.

High-pressure preservation technology uses the difference between the applied external high pressure and the internal vapor pressure to inhibit the enzyme activity in organisms, kill various pathogenic microorganisms, prevent the outward diffusion of water and nutrients, slow down the respiration rate and the ripening speed, and effectively extend the storage period. It is currently an advanced fresh flower storage technology, but due to the limitations of high-pressure equipment, it has not been applied in the production field.