ETHYLENE

THE RIPENING HORMONE

Ethylene Facts
 Ethylene is a natural plant hormone.
It affects the growth, development, ripening,
and senescence (aging) of all plants. It is
normally produced in small quantities by most
fruits and vegetables. Many fruits produce
larger quantities of ethylene and respond with
uniform ripening when exposed to an external
source of ethylene.
 Ethylene has been found not harmful or toxic to
humans in the concentrations found in ripening
rooms.
In fact, ethylene was used medically as a anesthetic in
concentrations significantly greater than that found in
a ripening room. However, ethylene is often targeted
as the reason for difficulty in breathing in ripening
rooms; what can affect some people is usually either:
a) Carbon Dioxide (CO2,) levels: CO2, is produced by
the ripening fruit in the room and levels increase over
time, or
b) Oxygen levels: The oxygen in the room when
loaded is taken in by the ripening fruit. This sometimes
will make breathing in a ripening room difficult. The
increased CO2, and decreased oxygen levels are the
main reasons for venting the ripening room.
 Ethylene action slows at lower temperatures.
At their minimum temperature levels, fruit is basically
inactive and does not respond well to externally
supplied ethylene.




 Ethylene will penetrate most substances.
In fact, it will permeate through produce cardboard
shipping boxes, wood and even concrete walls.

 Ethylene is harmful to many fruits, vegetables, and floral
items.
While ethylene is invaluable due to its ability to initiate the
ripening process in several fruits, it can also be very
harmful to many fruits, vegetables, flowers, and plants by
accelerating the aging process and decreasing the product
quality and shelf life. The degree of damage depends upon
the concentration of ethylene, length of exposure time, and
product temperature. One of the following methods should
be used to ensure that ethylene-sensitive produce is not
exposed:
Ø Ethylene producing items (such as apples, avocados,
bananas, melons, peaches, pears, and tomatoes) should
be stored separately from ethylene-sensitive ones (broccoli,
cabbage, cauliflower, leafy greens, lettuce, etc.). Also,
ethylene is emitted by engines. Propane, diesel, and
gasoline powered engines all produce ethylene in amounts
large enough to cause damage to the ethylene-sensitive
produce items mentioned;
Ø Ventilate the storage area, preferably to the outside of
the warehouse, on a continuous or regular basis to
purge the air of any ethylene;
Ø Remove ethylene with ethylene absorbing filters.
These have been proven in reducing and
maintaining low ethylene levels. If ethylene damage
is suspected, a quick and easy way to detect
ethylene levels is with hand held sensor tubes. This
will indicate if the above steps should be followed.

FUNCTIONS OF ETHYLENE
 Stimulates the release of dormancy.

 Stimulates shoot and root growth and differentiation (triple response)

 May have a role in adventitious root formation.

 Stimulates leaf and fruit abscission.

 Stimulates Bromiliad flower induction.

 Induction of femaleness in dioecious flowers.

 Stimulates flower opening.

 Stimulates flower and leaf senescence.

ETHYLENE
Ethylene is a small hydrocarbon gas. It is naturally occurring, but it can
also occur as a result of combustion and other processes. You can't
see or smell it. Some fruit will produce ethylene as ripening begins.
Apples and pears are examples of fruit that produce ethylene with
ripening. Ethylene is responsible for the changes in texture, softening,
color, and other processes involved in ripening. Fruits such as cherries
and blueberries do not produce much ethylene and it doesn't influence
their ripening.
Ethylene is thought of as the aging hormone in plants. In addition
to causing fruit to ripen, it can cause plants to die. It can be
produced when plants are injured, either mechanically or by
disease. Ethylene will cause a wide range of effects in plants,
depending on the age of the plant and how sensitive the plant is
to ethylene. Ethylene effects include fruit ripening, loss of
chlorophyll, abortion of plant parts, stem shortening, abscission
of plant parts, and epinasty (bending of stems). Ethylene can be
either good or bad, depending on what commodity you work with.
It is used in a positive manner in fruit ripening, for example. It can
also cause damage in crops. Examples of damage might include
yellowing of vegetables, bud damage in dormant nursery stock,
or abscission in ornamentals (leaves, flowers drop off). Often two
of the important items to know are 1) if a crop naturally produces
a lot of ethylene and 2) if it is responsive to ethylene.
Responsiveness will depend on 1) the crop, 2) the stage of plant
development, 3) the temperature, 4) the concentration of
ethylene, and 5) the duration of exposure.
Ethylene gas is used commercially to ripen tomatoes,
bananas, pears, and a few other fruits postharvest. Ethylene
can be explosive if it reaches high concentrations, so it has
to be used cautiously. Several commercial liquid products
release ethylene (ethephon, trade name Ethrel). These are
only used preharvest. There are three main ways to produce
ethylene: 1) gas from a cylinder, 2) catalytic generator, and 3)
ethephon. Other sources of ethylene include ripening fruit,
exhaust from internal combustion engines/heaters, smoke
(including cigarettes), welding, rotting vegetation, natural gas
leaks, and manufacturing plants of some kinds.
 Respiration is significant during all stages of fruit
ETHYLENE AND maturation . Fruit ON RESPIRATION
ITS EFFECT
cells are alive, so they need to consume food (mostly sugar) to
maintain
their own life processes. Through cellular respiration, one sugar
molecule (either glucose or fructose) reacts with six oxygen
molecules
to produce six molecules of water and six molecules of carbon
dioxide,
plus 670 kcal of energy.

C6H12O6(aq) + 6O2(g) Þ 6CO2(g) + 6H2O(l) + 670 kcal

This respiration process involves many intermediates steps,

which
create other chemical compounds important to the softening,
coloring,
flavor, and odor of the fruit. Plant physiologists can monitor
respiration
by measuring the amount of CO2 gas the fruit produces. For many
fruits, respiration is high during the first stage of
development, declines
during the second stage, and then rises sharply at the start of
the third
stage. This sharp rise is called the climacteric.
Not all plants exhibit the climacteric, but those that do produce
ethylene at the same time. This time of peak respiration signals the end
of the fruit’s life. Chlorophyll disappears and other colors that were
masked by chlorophyll begin to show through. Apples start to look red
and bananas turn yellow. If an apple is bruised or damaged, it produces
extra ethylene, and other apples nearby spoil rapidly. Scientists found
that folklore was right—one rotten apple can spoil the whole barrel.
Citrus plants, among others, don’t go through a climacteric at the
end of the third stage of development. These plants have no abrupt
change but show a steady decline in respiration from the first stage
through the fourth. However, if citrus fruits are exposed to ethylene,
they show a sharp rise in respiration and go through an induced
climacteric. Some of the ripening changes accelerate. The most
conspicuous change is the disappearance of chlorophyll, which is why
the grocer’s lemons looked ripe after he placed them near the kerosene
stove. For citrus, however, this accelerated ripening is more appearance
than substance. The steady ripening of the fruit, as measured by sugar
content, is not increased when the skin changes color. Often the fruit is
edible and sweet well before the chlorophyll disappears. Just the same,
most customers prefer yellow lemons and orange oranges
For fruits like bananas, which go through a climacteric, ethylene can
be used to trigger the normal ripening of green fruit. Bananas are
grown in the tropics and, when ripened naturally, are yellow, soft,
sweet, and highly perishable. It is disastrous to pick and ship ripe
ananas. Plant respiration is a chemical process, and if the bananas are
kept cool (but not below 12 °C) respiration proceeds slowly and the
bananas stay green and hard for a long time. When the bananas reach
eir destination, a quick exposure to ethylene triggers the climacteric.
Within a few days the fruit is ripe and tasty.

Plant physiologists have also discovered how to suppress the effect

of a fruit’s own ethylene, thus postponing ripening and rotting. Apples
are harvested in the fall and normally stay fresh for a few weeks.
However, when they are stored at low temperatures and the carbon
oxide in the surrounding air is increased slightly, the apples are less
sensitive to their own naturally produced ethylene. This controlled
torage slows the aging process and has made it possible for us to buy
firm, fresh apples all year long. Unfortunately, the stored apples lose
me of the chemicals responsible for their flavor, so they look and feel
good but lack the fresh taste of just-picked apples.
THE END