Foliar application of calcium nitrate extended the vase life of cut roses to about 10 days

This study investigated the effects of foliar and fertigation-based calcium nitrate applications on growth, flower quality, and postharvest physiology of two Rosa hybrida cultivars (‘Samurai’ and ‘Jumilia’) grown in a soilless system.

Treatments included a control (10% of the recommended Ca level), foliar spraying, and fertigation, arranged in a factorial design with four replications.

The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, Iran.

Results revealed that root morphological characteristics such as length and volume were maximized in the ‘Jumilia’cultivar when calcium nitrate was supplied via fertigation.

Conversely, foliar spraying with calcium nitrate markedly improved shoot and floral characteristics. Compared to the control, foliar calcium nitrate increased
flower diameter by 15.4%, enhanced hip length by 14.25 cm, and increased hip diameter in the ‘Samurai’ cultivar by 18.76%.

Moreover, foliar application of calcium nitrate extended the vase life of cut roses to about 10 days by preserving higher relative fresh weight.

Antioxidant enzyme activities were also enhanced under foliar treatment in the ‘Samurai’ cultivar, with superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD) increasing by 53.84%, 75.71%, and 97.28%, respectively.

Additionally, foliar-sprayed ‘Samurai’ plants showed nearly double calcium accumulation in leaves and petals.

Interestingly, in the ‘Jumilia’ cultivar, foliar application reduced leaf zinc content by 68.87%, while simultaneously enhancing leaf magnesium concentration by 64.16%.

Overall, foliar supplementation with calcium nitrate proved to be a practical strategy for improving flower quality,enhancing antioxidant defense, and prolonging vase life of roses in soilless culture.

Introduction

Roses (Rosa hybrida) are members of the Rosaceae family and represent a highly diverse group, consisting of nearly 200 species and more than 18,000 recognized cultivars across the globe. Currently, the cultivation and trade of roses ranks first in most countries of the world (Farazmandi et al., 2020). Roses recognized as the garden ornaments due to the variety of different characteristics including flower form, dye, odour and scent.

In additions, they are extremely used in perfume and beautifying industries. Rose cultivation goes back millions of years and as a major cut flower crop, it acclimates to various climatic conditions (Desta et al., 2022; Ghadimian and Danaei,2020; Hong et al., 2021).

Factors influencing rose quality

Recent studies show that nutrition, light spectrum, and postharvest treatments influence cut rose quality and vase life. A red-dominant LED (90:10 red-to-blue) improved photosynthesis, pigments, and carbohydrates, extending vase life by up to 30% (Davarzani et al., 2025).

Melatonin pulse treatments reduced ion leakage and maintained water status and pigments (Shamsinejad et al., 2024), while gaseous enrichment of vase solutions with ethylene inhibitors and bioactive compounds mitigated oxidative stress and prolonged vase life (AsgariI Gouraj, 2025), further highlighting the benefit of integrating nutritional, environmental, and postharvest management strategies for improved cut flower performance. 

Limited postharvest life

Cut roses are highly perishable and have a limited vase life. In commercial rose production, achieving desirable growth characteristics—such as adequate stem length, appropriate stem diameter, and optimal flower diameter— is essential for meeting market standards and ensuring high-quality cut stems.

Therefore, alongside postharvest quality, there is an urgent need to enhance both vegetative and floral attributes as well as to extend the vase longevity of rose flowers in order to supply satisfactory products to the marketplace.

Numerous studies have addressed these goals and explored various approaches to improve rose quality and longevity (Ehsanimehr et al., 2024; Ha et al., 2024).

Calcium functions

Calcium as an essential macronutrient element plays the important roles in cell membrane penetrability, protein biosynthesis, enzyme activities, regulating ion transduction, use of photo assimilates and energy transition (Ahmad & Rab, 2020; Khalaj et al., 2023; Mahajan& Pal, 2020).

Moreover, reinforced cell walls and increased thickness are the other roles of calcium in plants (Mahajan & Pal, 2020). It also affects cell wall integrity and is regarded as the primary barrier to cell breakdown (Abdolmaleki et al., 2015).

Therefore, it is imperative to recognise the most suitable rose cultivars for profitable cultivation in landscape, and it is also crucial to determine the appropriate calcium dosage for rose plants to enhance yields and overall performance.

Recent studies confirm that calcium plays a central role in maintaining cell wall structure and improving water relations in cut flowers. For instance, Ehsanimehr et al. (2024) demonstrated that pre-harvest foliar application of calcium significantly enhanced cell wall integrity and reduced fresh weight loss in cut roses, thereby extending vase life.

Moreover, Ha et al. (2024) found that calcium accumulation in petal and leaf tissues is closely associated with delayed senescence and improved structural stability in cut roses under specific light regimes.

These recent findings collectively highlight that calcium deficiency weakens cell wall structure, reduces water uptake, and ultimately shortens the postharvest life of cut flowers. Calcium deficiency can lead to disorders in terminal plant sections and growing branch tips, resulting in fruit softness, stem bending, and reduced postharvest longevity in fruits and cut flowers.

Interactions with other nutrients and advantages of the foliar feeding

Recent hydroponic studies have shown that nutrient management, including the choice of nitrogen sources and careful pH adjustment, can influence calcium uptake and overall plant performance (Soufi et al., 2025).

Foliar feeding ensures rapid nutrient absorption and minimizes nutrient antagonism. Recent studies show that foliar micronutrients significantly improve plant physiology—for example, Fe and Zn oxides enhanced root growth and antioxidant activity in sorghum (Dehestani et al., 2025), while humic acid with zinc sulphate increased nutrient uptake and chlorophyll in Physalis (Kazemi et al., 2024).

These findings highlight foliar nutrition as an efficient strategy to improve plant performance. In addition, foliar spraying of mineral elements avoids the pollution of groundwater through decreasing the nutrient leaching and subsequently decreases fertilizer expense (Mahajan & Pal, 2020).

In contrast, fertigation provides simultaneously water and essential nutrients required for plant growth and development. The precise incorporation of water and nutrients is important for great yield and quality.

Fertigation improves nutrient use efficiency, reduces fertilizer losses, and enhances nutrient uptake and growth ingreenhouse crops (Ramasubramanian et al., 2025). Since calcium is an immobile element in plants, the foliar
spraying can be useful to enhance its absorption.

Previous studies reported the impact of pre-harvest foliar application of calcium on rose floral characteristics (Banijamali et al., 2018).

Calcium application in other species

The increased calcium absorption by leaves and stem results from spraying calcium nitrate and calcium chloride which had a direct impact on the growth attributes, vase life of cut flowers and method of application (Khalaj et al., 2023).

Stem diameter and stem firmness in Gerbera jamesonii Bolus were increased using calcium treatment (Combrink, 2018; Khalaj & Noroozisharaf, 2020). Based on available references, exogenous application of calcium participates in water absorption by cut stems through stem lignification (Roosta et al., 2024).

Additionally, external application of calcium delayed stem bending in gerbera cut flowers (Gerbera jamesonii cv. Tamara), likely due to the cross-linking of pectin molecules and subsequent cell wall strengthening (Khalaj et al., 2017).

Calcium nitrate also contributes with N

On the other hand, calcium nitrate supplies available nitrogen, which enhances energy production (Watane et al., 2022). Application of calcium nitrate extended the postharvest life and raised bud opening in cut rose flower (Robichaux, 2008).

Although calcium plays multiple essential roles in plants, it its content is low in petal and if its content increases in the aerial organs, the postharvest life and the quality attributes of the flowers will be improved. Due to calcium’s low mobility, calcium fertigation alone is often inefficient, making foliar spraying a more effective approach.. So, spraying method is better and should be considered. In most of the studies, calcium is applied as a spray and supplement, and it is not removed from the roots as well.

However, in this study, we completely removed it from the roots and just applied a small amount of calcium to meet the needs of the roots. To our knowledge, no previous studies have examined the effects of different calcium nitrate application methods on floral quality, antioxidant enzyme activity, and vase life.

This study is the first to evaluate these parameters in Rosa hybrida under hydroponic conditions using both fertigation and foliar spraying of calcium nitrate. The main objective of this study is to determine whether foliar calcium application can compensate for reduced calcium levels in the nutrient solution and whether this approach can enhance flower quality and postharvest longevity.

Sources

Salemi, M., Khosravi, S., Cheheltanan, L., Tehranifar, A., Khezri, H., Javadolmotaghin; H., Heydari, H. and Ajami, V. 2025. 
Effects of Foliar and Fertigation Based Calcium Nitrate
Applications on Growth, Flower Quality, and Postharvest Physiology of Roses in a Soilless System.
Greenhouse Plant Production Journal, 2(4): 65-80.

https://gppj.araku.ac.ir/article_732470_676319c3682f01809e6c5fa086ab155f.pdf
https://doi.org/10.61882/gppj.2.4.65

Picture, Rosa cv. Jumila, Thursd. https://thursd.com/products/cut-flowers/roses/rose-jumilia