Agr. Med. Vol.

 137, 124-131 (2007)

POSTHARVEST PHYSIOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY OF CUT EUCALYPTUS

BRANCHES: A REVIEW

S. Pacifici1, A. Ferrante2, A. Mensuali-Sodi1*, G. Serra1

1
Scuola Superiore S. Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 40, 56125 Pisa, Italy
2
Dept. Produzione Vegetale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy

SUMMARY - Cut Eucalyptus branches are important ornamental filler used in bouquet and floral deco-
rations. Italy is at the first place as country production for cut foliage export in Europe and one of the
first in the world wide. Floriculture industry must be very competitive and quality must be guaranteed
from the growth to the end-user. In floriculture, marketing and product distribution are critical issues
for all countries. The production area and selling markets may be very far from each others with long
transportation periods. The storage and packaging systems play an important role for preserving quality
and reducing transportation costs. In this review the postharvest physiology of cut eucalyptus branches
are reported. Especially ethylene and respiration pattern such as the pulse treatments that can be useful
for preserving quality.

Key words: cut foliage, eucalyptus, ethylene, storage, packaging, vase life

INTRODUCTION as Colombia, Kenya etc., which can produce

Cut greens are an important component of
the floricultural industry, largely used for
decoration as filler in floral compositions.
They provide freshness and colour variety
to arrangements and bouquets. Cut euca-
lyptus species are especially important for
preparing arrangements of flowers that are
naturally without leaves, such as gerberas
and orchids. In many countries of the north
Europe, in particular the UK, cut greens can
be used for indoor decorations during win-
ter time, providing a striking contrast to the
wintry outdoor landscape.
The increase of economic importance of cut
foliage production in the Italian ornamental
industry is a result of the reorganization
of the internal production in response to a
crisis period in the cut flower production.
Word wide flower market has been becom-
ing stronger and stronger for the flowers
coming from the developing countries such
flowers at lower costs. Moreover, the glo-
balization of the flower market led Italian
growers to seek for alternative crops such as
cut foliage. In addition, consumers are pay-
ing more attention to the appearance of flo-
ral compositions and foliage is now almost
as important design element as the flowers
themselves.
The Italian area for cut foliage production
was 1542 ha in 2005, with a total production
of 1.3 million units with 85% of this culti-
vation realized in plain area, and regions
principally involved were Liguria (58%),
Campania (8.56%) and Tuscany (6.34%)
(ISTAT, 2009). Data ISMEA-ISTAT reported
that Italy in the 2006 imported 15% and
exported 85% (on the economic value basis)
cut foliage (Barsotto et al., 2008). Cut greens
include many ornamental species and the
most important are: Asparagus spp., Eucalyp-
tus spp., Ruscus spp., Hedera spp., Polypodium
spp. (ISTAT, 2006).

*Corresponding author. Tel. +39050/2216512; Fax: +39050/2216524; E-mail: mensuali@sssup.it

124
 S. Pacifici, A. Ferrante, A. Mensuali-Sodi, G. Serra
BOTANY
Eucalyptus belongs to Myrtaceae family and
is native of the Australia and Tasmania. The
most important species used for cut foliage
production are: E. polverulenta (cv. Baby
blue), E. cinerea, E. gunnii, E. nicholii, E. parvi-
folia, E. perriniana, E. pupulifolia and E. stuar-
tiana. These ornamental trees are also popu-
lar for gum and essential oils production
that can be extracted from leaves. Eucalyptus
grows in mild, warm and tropical climates,
but cannot live at temperatures lower than
-5°C. In the recent years the cultivation area
of eucalyptus for cut branches production is
growing up. The plant is characterized by
heterophylly that means the changing of leaf
shape during development. Young leaves
are sessile and rounded shaped, while the
old leaves are provided of peduncles and
have low ornamental value. Eucalyptus is a
monoic plant with wind pollination and un-
dergoes easily hybridization. Different spe-
cies of eucalyptus are characterized by good
adaptability to different soils and climatic
conditions, high productivity, good longev-
ity and stem resprouting.
PRODUCTION AND HARVEST
Eucalyptus species are cultivated in Mediter-
ranean area and grow until 350 meters over
the sea level. Usually the young plants are
planted in spring or at the end of summer.
Eucalyptus should be grown in climate with
high humidity otherwise suffers of leaf bor-
der burning. It can grow in wide range of
soils and with limited water supply. The soil
optimum pH ranges from 5.5 to 6.5.
The yield of cut foliage varied from 2.87
to 4.79 kg plant-1 (Forrest, 2002). Advisable
planting density for other eucalyptus species
are: 1-1.5 plant m-2 in E. cinerea and E. stuar-
tiana, 1 plant m-2 in E. populifolia.
Eucalyptus foliage can be harvested all year
around with lower production in summer
(August). The harvest begins on the lower
branches that should be harvested to 40-
125
60 cm long. Cut branches can be harvested
in immature (apical leaves are not com-
pletely expanded) or mature stage (leaf fully
expanded without soft tips). For commer-
cialization the leaves of cut foliage must
be free of spots and injuries (mechanical or
pathogen damages). Branches are grouped
in 10 bunches for transport and marketing.
The weight of each bunch usually ranges
from 250 to 500 g. Harvesting time has an
important influence on postharvest water
losses. Usually, harvesting should be done in
the morning when the temperature is cooler
and the transpiration and metabolism of the
foliage are slowed down. Seasonal changing
and the harvest period in the year affect the
vase life of eucalyptus branches: cut foliages
harvested in summer show shorter vase life
than those collected in winter (Ferrante et
al., 2000).
The maturity stage of branches, at the har-
vesting time, strongly affects the vase life.
Environmental conditions during the differ-
ent developmental stages also influence the
leaf metabolism, in particular transpiration,
respiration end ethylene production (Fer-
rante et al., 1998).
The immature compared with mature
branches are more sensitive to water stress
and during vase life show apical bending,
while the mature branches mainly show leaf
desiccation (Ferrante et al., 1998). In Table 1
is reported vase life of different eucalyptus
species.
POST-HARVEST PHYSIOLOGY
AND TECHNOLOGY
The vase life of the most part of cut euca-
lyptus species is often satisfactory and does
not need to be extended (Wirthensohn et al.,
1996). However, there are some species that
may get beneficial effects from treatments
with preserving solutions, especially during
summer periods such as E. parvifolia and E.
gunnii (Ferrante et al., 1998). The vase life
of E. parvifolia during May-June is below
10 days (Ferrante et al., 2000).
 AGRICOLTURA MEDITERRANEA

Cut eucalyptus branches, Table 1. – Vase life (days) of Eucalyptus spp in different temperature
such as other cut foliage, dur- environment.
ing postharvest life undergo Species Vase life Literature
many physiological changes E. aggregata 35-40 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
that may induce several dis- E. albida 13-14 Wirthensohn et al., 1996
orders leading them to die. E. cinerea 14-30 Wirthensohn et al., 1996;
The senescence studies car- Ferrante et al., 1998
ried out on cut flowers and E. ciccifera 35-40 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
foliage have greatly helped E. cordata 30-35 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
to find technological strate- E. crenulata 9-10 Jones et al., 1993
gies to prolong vase life of E. dalrympleana 31-35 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
cut eucalyptus foliage. The E. globulus 30-35 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
quality and the vase life of E. gunnii 15-34 Ferrante et al., 2005
cut eucalyptus foliage essen- E. leucoxylon 30-35 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
tially depend from the leaf E. linearis 30-35 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
health status. Senescence E. maidenii 40-45 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
symptoms of cut eucalyp- E. nicholii 35-40 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
tus foliage can be leaf wilt- E. ovata 35-40 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
ing, desiccation, rolling and E. paniculata 35-40 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
necrosis. E. parvifolia 13-31 Ferrante et al., 2000; 2002b;
However, the postharvest 2005; Pacifici et al., 2008b
life of cut eucalyptus foliage E. perriniana 35-40 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
depends from many internal E. polyanthemos 40-50 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
and external factors, which E. populnea 35-40 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
may act synergistically re- E. polverulenta 30-35 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
ducing the vase life. There- E. robusta 30-35 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
fore it is difficult to identify E. sideroxylon 30-35 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
the major physiological dis- E. stuartiana 30-35 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
order that limits the post- E. urnigera 40-45 Bazzocchi et al., 1987
harvest life.
The intensity of leaf colour is closely correlat- The main postharvest problem of cut euca-
ed with the quality of ornamental cut foliage. lyptus is the weight loss (during storage and
The concentration of chlorophyll is directly transportation) and reduced water uptake
correlated with consumer’s attractiveness. (during vase life). Since the cut eucalyptus
In the floriculture industry the use of chloro- such as all cut greens are sold by weight
phyll meter may be useful for estimating the and any reduction is directly translated in
quality of cut greens. Comparison studies economic losses.
on chlorophyll measurements in E. parvifolia Among eucalyptus species there are E.
were performed using no invasive method youngiana and E. tetragona that are grown for
(SPAD) or analytical determinations (Pacifici cut flowering branches production and the
et al., 2008b). Results were not satisfactory flower life is the vase life-limiting factor (De-
and for this species SPAD values are not an laporte et al., 2000; Delaporte et al., 2005).
indicator of leaf senescence.
Cut foliage show chlorophyll degradation
when they are already senescent, therefore Respiration, ethylene production and sensitivity
the chlorophyll content cannot be used as
marker for evaluating the quality of cut E. Cut branches after harvest continue to live
parvifolia branches (Ferrante et al., 2002b; Fer- and all metabolic processes rapidly decline
rante et al., 2003a,b; Pacifici et al., 2008a,b). if not correctly handled. Respiration of eu-

126
 S. Pacifici, A. Ferrante, A. Mensuali-Sodi, G. Serra
calyptus cut branches kept at 20°C increase
up to three days of vase life with a rate that
ranges from 2.5 to 10 mol CO2 h-1 g-1 FW than
slightly decreased (Ferrante et al., 2003b).
The ethylene is another important parameter
that may affect the vase life of many cut flow-
ers and foliage. The ethylene production of cut
eucalyptus varies with the stage of leaf matu-
rity. Cut immature branches have higher eth-
ylene production compared to mature branch-
es. In cut Eucalyptus parvifolia, the immature
branches produce 6 nl h-1 g-1 FW (after 24 h
in vase), while the mature branches produce
half amount of ethylene about 3 nl h-1 g-1 FW.
Analogous results were found in immature
and mature branches of E. gunnii (Ferrante et
al., 1998). However, ethylene production var-
ies also from species to species. In cut E. gunnii
branches the amount of ethylene ranges from
4 to 11 nl h-1 g-1 FW during the first 24 hours
after harvest (Jones et al., 1993; Ferrante et al.,
1998), while the ethylene production in E. cin-
erea ranges from 2-3 nl h-1 g-1 FW.
Cut eucalyptus species can be considered
ethylene insensitive, because exogenous ap-
plications of ethylene induced visible dam-
age at 20 µL L-1, reducing the vase life by
19% compared to control. Since the ethylene
concentration during the distribution chain
or at retailer markets does not overcome 3 µL
L-1 the cut eucalyptus foliage can be reason-
ably considered ethylene insensitive.
Different behaviour was observed when cut
eucalyptus was treated with 1 mM 1-amino-
cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) the
ethylene precursor. Treatment ACC strongly
reduced the vase life and induced complete
leaf abscission (Ferrante et al., 2002a).
Ethylene production and respiration trends
were opposite during vase life and eucalyp-
tus cannot be ascribed to climateric or no
climateric pattern (Ferrante et al., 2003b).
Storage and packaging conditions
Environmental conditions during storage
and transportation are extremely important
for preserving quality of ornamental per-
127
ishables. Floriculture items have to be often
transported for long distances before they
reach the selling markets and are highly
susceptible to quality losses. The packaging
systems play an important role in preventing
water losses, product damage and reducing
transportation costs.
The optimal environmental conditions for
cut foliage are low temperatures and high
relative humidity in order to minimize wa-
ter losses. Temperature should be as low as
possible considering the freezing point of
species. However, the common storage and
transportation temperature ranges from 0
to 5°C. Low temperatures reduce all physi-
ological processes, especially respiration and
ethylene production. Temperatures close to
0°C should be preferred for long shipping
distance, while higher temperatures around
5°C may be used for local commercialization
(Reid and Ferrante, 2002).
Dry storage is not advisable in these spe-
cies, because the high transpiration surface
of cut foliage induces a rapid water loss and
subsequent wilting (Ferrante et al., 2002b).
Recent studies on E. parvifolia showed that cut
branches can be dry stored if sealed in plastic
bags and kept at 4°C (Pacifici et al., 2008a,
2008b). Optimal results were obtained when
a mild vacuum was applied to sealed bags
reducing volume. In these experiments the
air inside the bags was reduced but not com-
pletely removed. Cut eucalyptus branches
dry stored in plastic bags under mild vacuum
satisfactory can be stored until 6 days without
any negative effect on subsequent vase life
(Pacifici et al., 2008b). This period of time may
be enough for the most common transport
destinations. The maximum vacuum stor-
age duration depends from the development
stages at harvest of E. parvifolia. In fact, im-
mature cut branches can be stored only for
3 days (Pacifici et al., 2008a).
Vacuum storage is a common practise for
preserving vegetables and fruits. In vac-
uum storage bags or in storage chambers
equipped with controlled atmosphere the
gas concentration continuously changes, due
to plant tissue respiration generating a pas-
 AGRICOLTURA MEDITERRANEA

sive modified atmosphere (Knee and Ag-
garwal, 2000).
The most important advantage of vacuum
packaging applied to the cut foliage industry
is the increase of loading capacity per unit
of volume, reducing the transportation costs
without compromising the produce quality.
Wet storage of cut foliage, instead, is the
most used method at the selling point or in
farm before transportation. Cut E. gunnii was
satisfactory stored for 4 weeks (Forrest, 1991)
and cut E. parvifolia for 4 weeks (Ferrante et
al., 2002b), without affecting the postharvest
life (Tab. 2). The effect of different storage
conditions on the vase life of E. parvifolia is
reported in Tab. 2.
Water stress and postharvest treatments
The water stress may be a major problem
for several cut foliage. The water stress is
often caused by xylem occlusion, which may
be induced by bacterial growth in the vase
water (van Doorn, 1997). Weight losses of
cut foliage may be avoided using chemicals
that improve the hydraulic conductance or
reducing the leaf transpiration in vase by
treatments with surfactants and weak acids.
During transportation the pulse treatments
should be addressed to reduce water losses
limiting transpiration.
Many treatments have been used for im-
proving the vase life of cut eucalyptus spe-
cies (Tab. 3). The compounds tested are the
same of those used for preserving cut flow-
ers, which were studied alone or in combina-
tions (i.e. Forrest, 1991; Wirthensohn et al.,
1996; Ferrante et al., 2002a). The commercial
preservative solutions recommended for cut
foliage are a mix of several chemical com-
pounds and most of them are not declaimed
for patent reasons.
Sugar: it is usually used in commercial for-
mulations and is a source of food/energy for

Table 2. – Effect of different postharvest environment conditions on the vase life (days) of E. parvifolia.
Storage T°C Time storage Vase life Literature
Cold wet 5°C 4 weeks 12.5±1.60 Ferrante et al., 2002b
Forrest 1991.
Cold dry 5°C 2 weeks 2.0 Ferrante et al., 2002b
Cold wet 4°C 6 days 12.0±0.60 Pacifici et al., 2008a
Mild cold vacuum 4°C 6 days 11.2±0.60 Pacifici et al., 2008a
(dry storage)
Room temperature 14°C day – 10°C night - 21.5±2.20 Ferrante et al.,2005
Room temperature 20°C - 14.0±0.66 Pacifici et al., 2008a
Ferrante et al., 2002b

Table 3. – Postharvest treatments to extend cut Eucalyptus spp. vase life (% of the control).
Treatments Concentrations Species Vase life Literature
AOA 1 mM E. parvifolia 5 Ferrante et al., 2002a
Cobalt chloride 2 mM E. parvifolia 30 Ferrante et al., 2002a
Glycerol 1 mM E. parvifolia 53 Ferrante et al., 2001
20% E. cinerea n.d. Campell et al., 2000
Citric acid 150 mg L-1 E. parvifolia 56 Ferrante et al., 2001
Vaporgard 1% E. parvifolia 33 Ferrante et al., 2001
Sucrose + 8-HQS 10-20 g L-1 suc.+200 mg L-1 E.cinerea 26 Wirthensohn et al., 1996
8-HQS E. globulus 95
Sucrose + 8 HQC 20 g L-1 suc. + 200 mg L-1 E. gunnii 20 Forrest, 1991
8-HQC
STS 2 mM E. gunnii 16 Forrest, 1991
Triton X 0.01% E. parvifolia 0 unpublished

128
 S. Pacifici, A. Ferrante, A. Mensuali-Sodi, G. Serra
cut ornamentals, especially for cut flowers.
The most used sugar for making preservative
solutions is the sucrose with concentrations
ranging between 0.5 to 20%. The sugar must
be supplied with biocides in order to inhibit
bacteria growth. The sugar loading can be
applied as pulse treatment (24-48 h) or as
continuous treatments. Of course, the choice
of one or another depends at which stage of
the distribution chain the postharvest treat-
ment is required. Cut eucalyptus species
treated with sucrose have given opposite
results depending from the species. Combi-
nations of sucrose and 8-hydroxyquinoline
sulphate (8-HQS) improved the vase life in
E. globules and E. cinerea (Wirthensohn and
Sedgley, 1996). Positive effect was obtained
also in E. gunnii treated with sucrose and 8-
hydroxyquinoline citrate (8-HQC) (Forrest,
1991). Applications of sucrose in combina-
tions with amino-oxyacetic acid (AOA) or
8-HQS were not able to extend the vase life
of cut E. parvifolia, even if avoided the weight
losses and improved the water uptake (Fer-
rante et al., 2003a). It has been found that
high levels of sugars in leaf are the triggers
of senescence (Sheen, 1990). In fact, it is well
known that supplying sucrose to the plants
leaves lose their primary function, since
plants do not need to produce carbohydrates
through photosynthesis and activate the leaf
senescence for reducing transpiration (Reid
and Ferrante, 2002).
Ethylene inhibitors: treatments applied to
cut eucalyptus species did not always sat-
isfactory extend the vase life. The AOA
slightly improve the vase life, while the
cobalt chloride has been more efficient to ex-
tend the longevity of E. parvifolia cut foliage.
Treatments with ethylene inhibitors were
able to inhibit the ethylene production (Fer-
rante et al., 2002a).
Treatments with silver thiosulphate (STS)
did not increase the vase life of cut E. gunnii
branches (Forrest, 1991).
Biocides: they should be applied for reduc-
ing the number of bacteria in the vase water.
Bacteria are the most important factors that
limit the vase life of cut flowers (Aarts, 1957).
129
Positive correlation has been found between
bacteria obstruction and vessels occlusion in
cut ferns of Adiantum raddianum (van Doorn
et al., 1991).
The ammonium quaternary salts (benzalko-
nium chloride) did not give any beneficial
effect on vase life of E. cinerea, E. gunnii and E.
parvifolia (Ferrante et al., 1998). These chemical
compouds applied as pulse treatment for 48 h
decreased the vase life and the leaf quality.
The sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) is a com-
monly used biocide in water solution for cut
flowers, unfortunately it was phytotoxic for E.
parvifolia (data unpublished). On the contrary,
pulse treatments with citric acid were able to
improve the vase life of this species (Ferrante
et al., 2001). The citric acid improves the vase
life because reduces the pH and inhibits the
bacterial growth. In fact, pH values of hold-
ing solution should range from 3 to 4. These
values block the bacteria growth that may oc-
clude vessels and inhibits water uptake.
Surfactants: cut branches of E. parvifolia were
treated with 0.01% Triton X®, a non ionic sur-
factant, with the aim to facilitate the water
uptake through the stems. The results did
not show significant difference between the
vase life of treated and untreated branches
(unpublished data).
Antitraspirants and osmoregulators: treat-
ment with an anti-transpirant Vaporgard®
has not significantly increased the vase life,
reducing the water uptake by limiting the
leaf transpiration (Ferrante et al., 2001) of cut
E. parvifolia branches. Anti-transpirants cre-
ate a thin plastic film over the leaves avoid-
ing the water losses through the stomata.
Unfortunately, this treatment makes the cut
branches sticky and unmarketable.
Cut foliage of E. parvifolia treated with glyc-
erol showed longer life compared with con-
trol (Ferrante et al., 2001). Analogous results
were found in E. cinerea (Campbell et al.,
2000). The glycerol induced a strong water
stress at beginning of experiment inducing
an increment of ethylene production (Fer-
rante et al., 2001). Glycerol absorbed by cells
increases the water potential into leaves cre-
ating a new water flux along the stem.
 AGRICOLTURA MEDITERRANEA
CONCLUSIONS
The quality of cut foliage can be guaranteed
by harvesting the eucalyptus branches at the
mature stage and during the coolest period
of the day such as early in the morning,
especially in spring-summer time. Posthar-
vest treatments are only required for cut
foliage that will be stored for long time or
shipped for long distance and can be ap-
plied before or after storage/transportation.
These treatments should be performed with
chemical compounds that improve water
uptake or reduce transpiration for avoiding
the cut branches weight losses. Transporta-
tion should be performed dry in plastic bags
associated with a mild vacuum. Storage can
be performed in water or in sealed plastic
bags. The vase water at retailers should be
acidized to 3-4 pH using weak acids such as
citric acid.
Acknowledgements
The work was supported by funds of MIPAAF,
FLORPRO project 2006-2008 “Individuazione
di tecniche di produzione, di conservazione e
commercializzazione, finalizzate alla riduzione
dell’impatto ambientale e all’ottimizzazione
della qualità merceologica del prodotto”. Pub-
lication n° 9
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