Lilies are one of the most important bulbous plants as cut flowers. In the present study, the effect of foliar sprays of different concentrations of benzyladenine (BA) (0.00, 0.25, and 0.50mM) and salicylic acid (SA) (0.00, 0.10, 0.50, and 1.00mM) was investigated at four stages of pre-harvest on qualitative and quantitative traits of Lilium ‘Navona’. The studied traits included number of buds, number of leaves, bud length, bud diameter, stem length, stem diameter, leaf length, leaf width, fresh and dry weights of stems and leaves, dry matter of stems and leaves, vase life, peduncle length and diameter, ionic leakage, chlorophyll index, content of anthocyanins, flavonoids, carotenoids and chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll. The highest number of buds and vase life were achieved with 0.50mM SA and 0.00mM BA. The highest values for bud diameter and peduncle length were achieved with 1.00mM SA and 0.00mM BA, however, there was no significant difference to 0.50mM SA. In addition, 0.50mM SA increased stem diameter and length, leaf length and width, and stem fresh weight compared with control. Results showed that increasing BA to 0.50mM caused undesirable effects on many traits including the number of buds. Since the largest number of buds and the highest vase life were achieved with 0.50mM SA and 0.00mM BA and these traits are the most important characters for the quality of Lilium, spraying of 0.50mM SA is recommended.
