Bending in cut Gerbera jamesonii flowers relates to adverse water relations and lack of stem sclerenchyma development, not to expansion of the stem central cavity or stem elongation

We studied stem bending in cut Gerbera flowers (Gerbera jamesonii cv. Tamara). Bending might be due to turgor loss. During vase life water uptake decreased more rapidly than transpiration, hence the flowers lost water. Net water loss did not occur in the floral head, but was found in the stem. It was largest in the segment (10–15 cm below the floral head) where bending was localised. When comparing flowers that showed stem bending with those that did not, on day 7 of vase life, the fresh weight loss of 5 cm stem segments was higher in the stems that had bent. Covering the stems with a flexible, thin sleeve of polypropylene plastic reduced transpiration and increased the time to stem bending from d 7 to d 14 of vase life. Additionally, stem bending might relate to stem elongation and to stem morphology and anatomy. Stems elongated by 1–1.5 cm, in the uppermost 10 cm, during the first two days of vase life. No relationship was found between stem elongation and bending. At harvest, the stems contained a large central cavity, starting at about 5 cm from the root–shoot junction, and ending about 10 cm below the floral head. The cavity extended upwards and laterally during vase life, but no relationship was found between cavity formation and stem bending. A cylinder of sclerenchyma in the stems was found to end about 20 cm below the floral head, in summer. Bending was correlated with the extent of sclerenchyma formation and stem lignin levels. It is concluded that stem bending is due to net water loss from the stem, particularly in the area of bending, and to low mechanical strength in the upper part of the stems, which lack a sclerenchyma cylinder.

► Stem bending in Gerbera flowers is induced by a bacterial occlusion in the lower stem end.
► Bending is due to net water loss in the part of the stem that bends.
► Insufficient development of a lignified sclerenchyma layer in the stem is another cause of bending.
► No relationship was found between bending and the development of a hole in the stem.