Índices de madurez
Flowers in the Sweet William inflorescence continue developing after harvest and they should be harvested with the outer ring of flowers open. Flowers should have at least the outer whorl of florets open. Avoid flowers with withered or sleepy florets, as this indicates ethylene-induced problems.
Grading and Bunching. Quality Sweet William flowers are of uniform maturity, are free from damage and evidence of pests and diseases, have reasonable stem length and good quality foliage. Flowers are sold in a grower's bunch of at least 12 stems.
Manejo y almacenamiento poscosecha
Like the closely-related carnation, Sweet William flowers should be stored at 0-1°C.
Sweet William flowers are ethylene-sensitive.
Pretreatments
Sweet William flowers should be pretreated with 1-MCP or STS to prevent the deleterious effects of ethylene.
Packing
Sweet William flowers are normally packed in horizontal fiberboard boxes.
Special Considerations
As with many flowers grown in the field, fungal infections due to the wet foliage and flower conditions sometimes experienced at harvest can be a problem. Make sure that flowers are rapidly unpacked and aerated to reduce possible disease spread.
Desórdenes
Description
Dianthus barbatus. A close relative of carnation, normally grown in the field, Sweet William flowers are borne on a short-stemmed inflorescence. Colors range from white through intense red and purple, and provide strong accents in an arrangement. The specific epithet barbatus means bearded or barbed in reference to the beard-like growth emerging from the petals.