Abstract: Cell death is a common event in all types of plant organisms. Understanding the phenomenon of programmed cell death (PCD) is an important area of research for plant scientists because of its role in senescence and the post-harvest quality of ornamentals, fruits, and vegetables. In the present paper, PCD in relation to petal senescence in ornamental plants is reviewed. Morphological, anatomical, physiological, and biochemical changes that are related to PCD in petals, such as water content, sink-source relationships, hormones, genes, and signal transduction pathways, are discussed. Several approaches to improving the quality of post-harvest ornamentals are reviewed and some prospects for future research are given.

Key words: ornamental plants, petal senescence, post-harvest quality, programmed cell death.