Optimising techniques for high-quality preservation of hybrid Rose cv. ‘Minu Parle’: Physicochemical, sensory and multivariate insights

Flower preservation is an important value-addition strategy in commercial floriculture, particularly for short-lived ornamentals such as roses. This study evaluated 5 chemical formulations comprising ethanol, acetone, acetic acid, citric acid and glycerine to optimise the preservation of Hybrid rose cv. ‘Minu Parle’. Flowers were processed through depigmentation, re-pigmentation and silica-gel drying at 40 °C, followed by assessment of moisture content, dry weight, texture, colour absorption and overall appearance. Significant differences among treatments (P < 0.05) were recorded. Among the tested formulations, the multi-solvent combination of ethanol + acetone + acetic acid + glycerine (T5) consistently produced superior results. Flowers treated with T5 exhibited the lowest residual moisture (13.25 %) compared with T1 treatment having maximum moisture (18.08%), higher dry weight retention (2.99 g ) and maximum textural stability (3.75 out of 5), along with the highest dye absorption (4.75 mL) and most appealing aesthetic quality (3.58 out of 5) during storage. Texture score in T5 (3.75) was nearly 2 times higher than T1(1.75). Correlation analysis identified moisture content as the primary factor negatively influencing texture and appearance, while Principal Component Analysis showed that moisture-driven variation accounted for the majority of total variance, clearly separating treatments based on quality attributes. The enhanced performance of T5 appears to result from the synergistic dehydrating ability of ethanol-acetone coupled with humectant action of glycerine. Overall, the study establishes an efficient, reproducible and commercially viable multi-solvent protocol for producing high-quality preserved roses, offering significant potential for adoption in floriculture-based value-addition and dry flower industries.