How does ethylene affect ripening fruit?

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The early Egyptians used it to stimulate the ripening of figs. Ancient Chinese would burn it to hasten the ripening of pears. In the early 20th century, scientists finally figured out exactly what component was responsible for these instances of accelerated fruit ripening and many are concluding that the saying, “One apple spoils the whole bushel,” may just have a grain of truth to it.

Many experts agree, saying that bruised, damaged, or overripe fruit does produce a hormone that accelerates the ripening of other fruits nearby. Here’s why: Plants use hormones, chemicals that are produced in one location that have an affect on cells in a different location, to communicate among tissues. But while most plant hormones are transported through the plant’s vascular system, some are released into the air or in the gaseous phase. One of them is ethylene, a gaseous hormone first understood about 40 years ago. Odorless and colorless, it either naturally occurs in plants or plant products (flowers, fruits, and vegetables) or is produced by combustion, a process initiated by man.

Among ethylene’s multiple effects on plants is fruit ripening. Ripening is a process that enables the fruit to change color, develop flavor, and acquire the aroma and texture that all combine to make the fruit tastier and more palatable. When fruit ripens, the starch in the fleshy part of the fruit is converted to sugar which is nature’s way of making it more attractive to animals, so they will eat it and scatter the seeds. Ethylene initiates the reaction in which the starch is converted to sugar.

The effect of ethylene on fruits was first discovered by accident many years ago. Before modern heating systems were invented, people used kerosene heaters for warmth and lemon growers quickly found out that storing green lemons in kerosene-heated sheds resulted in the lemons ripening quickly. Researchers attributed this phenomenon to the ethylene emitted by the kerosene heater.

Similarly, fruits, vegetables, and flowers are able to absorb ethylene molecules present in the atmosphere. The results of this action can be seen when fruits are stored in any closed environment such as a paper bag, refrigerator, warehouse, truck or shipping container. The increased levels of ethylene released by the fruits in these closed containers accelerate their ripening.

For some fruits, life begins when the flower ovules are fertilized. During a process of roughly 45 to 55 days, the cells of a young fruit divide and then quickly enlarge. Finally, the fruit matures and reaches its optimum size. During this period, several chemical and physical changes occur that impact the fruit’s ripening action after harvest. When the fruit increases its internal concentration of ethylene to 0.1 – 1.0 ppm, the ripening process gets underway and there’s no going back. And if additional ethylene is absorbed before these levels are reached, accelerated ripening will be triggered even earlier.

While ethylene is invaluable because of its ability to initiate the ripening process in several fruits, it can also prove harmful to many fruits, vegetables, and flowers by accelerating the aging process, decreasing product quality, and reducing shelf life. The degree of damage depends on several factors: the concentration of ethylene, length of exposure time, and product temperature. Moreover, its power to impact fruits cannot be underestimated as ethylene can permeate produce cardboard shipping boxes, wood, and even concrete walls. That’s why experts advise that ethylene-producing items like apples, avocados, bananas, melons, peaches, pears, and tomatoes should be stored separately from ethylene-sensitive products like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and leafy greens. Thus, when applied to commerce, the process of accelerated ripening through ethylene serves as a critical factor that could impact the success of the food and floral industries.

Resource by Will

I am the editor for TheFreeResource.com, and owner of LinchpinSEO, a small business content creation company. The Free Resource has a select community of talented writers, teachers, and business people (and we are always looking for more) that bring you the most trusted resources on the web and credible articles about many topics.

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