Processing & Preservation

Ethylene

A gaseous plant hormone that triggers and accelerates ripening and senescence, active at parts-per-million concentrations.

Real-life application

The ripening gas behind the old kitchen trick of storing bananas away from other fruit, so the whole bowl doesn't ripen and spoil together.

Related terms

Climacteric fruit

Processing & Preservation

Fruit showing a sharp rise in respiration and ethylene production at the onset of ripening — banana, mango, apple, tomato — and able to ripen after harvest.

Controlled atmosphere storage

Processing & Preservation

Bulk storage in which gas composition is continuously monitored and actively corrected, used mainly for fruit such as apples.

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