Abstract: Cut chrysanthemum‘Jinba’was used in this study to investigate the possible reason for
accelerated flower opening after long distant transportation. Its vase life was prolonged by using optimized
pretreatment solution. Measurements of water potential the cut flowers after simulative long distance
transportation in cold（2 ℃）showed considerable drop（10 × 105 Pa）in water potential in both leaves and
flowers during cold chain. The flower opening acceleration was likely due to abrupt change in water
potential，and the level of water potential drop was consistent with enhanced flower opening rate. High
water loss from branches of flowers during long distant transportation caused a drastic rise in water
potential，which triggered rapid water absorption and simultaneously resulted in faster flower petals
expansion. Adding appropriate amount of thidiazuron（TDZ）to original solution delayed leaf andflower senescence. An efficient pretreatment solution was formulated，which contained 200 mg · L-1 8-HQ +
200 mg · L-1 CA + 2 mL · L-1 Triton X-100 + 100 mg · L-1 vitamin C + 0.05 mg · L-1 TDZ + 1% sucrose.
Pretreatment of this solution prolonged vase life of cut chrysanthemum by more than 3 days.

Key words: cut chrysanthemum, postharvest, long distance transportation, preservation technology