Friday, March 27, 2009

Bringing back the scent of flowers

By George Nava True II

Are you having a hard time smelling that beautiful rose you just bought? Even if you don't have a bad cold, smelling flowers can be difficult these days due to years of selective breeding that have diminished their scent.

Fortunately, a group of scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has solved that problem. They've found a way to enhance the scent of flowers and implant a scent in those that don't have one.

In fact, they can even make flowers smell good day and night regardless of the plant's natural way of producing scent.

In an article published in the Plant Biotechnology Journal, Professor Alexander Vainstein and his research assistant Michal Moyal Ben-Tzvi reported that they have managed to enhance the scent of flowers by tenfold and cause them to emit a scent at different times of the day.

Vainstein, who heads the team at the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the above university, said this development is not only important to flowers that rely on scent to attract pollinators but will help boost the appeal of commercial fruits and vegetables.

"Scents in flowers and plants are used to attract pollinating insects like bees and beetles that pass on the pollen and help in the reproduction and creation of fruit. The intensity of the scent that the flower emanates is influenced by the time of day, depending on the weather, the age of the flower and the species," explained ScienceDaily.Com.

With this new technology, Vainstein hopes to help breeders create sweet-smelling flowers and produce new scents that people will enjoy. He also wants to improve the scent of fruits and vegetables to aid consumers in their choices.

"Over a third of participants in Flowers and Plants Association surveys stated that scent influenced their choice of flower purchase. Floral scents are also one of the most popular smells and the perfume industry expends a great deal of effort trying to reproduce the authentic fragrance of fresh flowers," said ScienceDaily.Com.

This proves that scent plays an important part in our lives - a fact that Vainstein nose - err - knows. At present, his greenhouse at the said university is the only one in the world dedicated to exploring this important facet of human nature.

So in the near future, don't be surprised if your favorite flowers smell better than ever thanks to Vainstein's research. This will certainly be a good experience for everyone.

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