Aarhus University Seal

Stop flower waste

About a quarter of all the ornamental plants produced in Denmark never get as far as the consumer because of wastage in the producer-to-consumer chain. Aarhus University and the horticultural industry join forces to reduce the extensive problem.

[Translate to English:] Smuk ser de ud, når de forlader gartneriet, men for mange potteplanter går til spilde, inden de når ud til forbrugerne. Foto: AU

Careful nurture and controlled climatic conditions provide a good start for the potted plants produced in Denmark for national and international customers. But on the route from producer to consumer, around a quarter of the plants are lost as a result of wastage.

 

Where do things go wrong, what goes wrong, how bad is it and what can be done about it? This is what scientists and the horticultural industry will be examining in a new project supported by funds from the Green Development and Demonstration Programme under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. The project partners aim to halve the wastage – currently valued at about DKK 375m (€50m) in production value on an annual basis.

 

Denmark produces about 600 million potted plants per year, of which 75 percent is exported. The production is worth about DKK 3 billion (€400m), making Denmark the world's second-largest exporter of ornamental plants. Unfortunately, up to 25 percent of the plants will not survive the journey from the nursery to the consumer. Less waste will strengthen the competitive advantage of the industry, improve the producers’ economy and open up new markets.

 

Ornamental plants must be treated with care

There are several factors at play when it comes to ensuring that potted plants remain “fresh as a daisy” when they leave their familiar surroundings in the greenhouse. Scientists from Aarhus University will be looking into these factors.

 

- Initially, we will collect and analyse historical data and experience on wastage between producer and consumer to map the causes and get an idea of where the problem lies, says section leader Karen Koefoed Petersen from the Department of Food Science at Aarhus University.

 

One of the tasks will be to measure the concentration of ethylene during transportation. Plants produce and emit the hormone ethylene, which affects plant growth, flowering, ripening and aging. Some plants are relatively sensitive to ethylene, so that they may grow older prematurely. Their flower buds may fall off and in the worst case the plants may wilt and die.

 

The scientists will carry out automatic air sampling from the plant environment during transportation and develop a technique that can analyse even very low concentrations of ethylene. These measurements can help to assess the effectiveness of various methods of protecting plants against ethylene, for example the removal of ethylene from the atmosphere or the wrapping of plants in materials that ethylene cannot penetrate.

 

Plants toughened up

It is also possible to improve the plants' chances of reaching consumers unscathed at an even earlier stage. When ornamentals are grown they are carefully nursed under optimal growing conditions. It can therefore be a shock to their system when they are subjected to transport in darkness and under conditions that may be too humid, too cold or with too much ethylene.

 

For that reason it could be a good idea to "train" them to a life outside the greenhouse by acclimatising them. Scientists will examine which acclimatisation strategies are the best. They will finally test which packaging methods and materials produce the best shelf life for the plants.

 

The three-year ‘Min-Waste’ project has been granted DKK 6.3m from the Green Development and Demonstration Programme under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. The project is led by Danske Prydplanter and is a collaboration between Aarhus University and a number of plant nurseries and private enterprises – Thoruplund, Alex Andersen Ølund, Flex Technic, GASA BØG, PKM, Rosa Danica, SOGO team, Hallum Trading, and others.

 

For further information please contact: Section Leader Karen Koefoed Petersen, Department of Food Science, KarenK.Petersen@agrsci.dk, telephone: +45 8715 8336