ARS | Publication request: Management of Climacteric Fruit Ripening with 1-Methylcyclopropene, An Inhibitor of Ethylene Action

Submitted to: Proceedings of Plant Growth Regulation Society of America
Publication Type: Proceedings/Symposium
Publication Acceptance Date: October 17, 2003
Publication Date: December 1, 2003
Citation: MATTHEIS, J.P., FAN, X., ARGENTA, L. MANAGEMENT OF CLIMACTERIC FRUIT RIPENING WITH 1-METHYLCYCLOPROPENE, AN INHIBITOR OF ETHYLENE ACTION. PROCEEDINGS OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS SOCIETY OF AMERICA. pp. 20-25. 2003.

Interpretive Summary: Stimulation of ripening of many fruit including apple, pear, banana, melon, kiwi, mango occurs due to the presence of ethylene, an orderless, colorless gas produced naturally by these fruit. Reducing or preventing fruit from producing or being exposed to ethylene slows the process of ripening and provides an extension of the period over which fruit can be stored and marketed. Another gaseous compound, 1-methylcyclopropene, prevents ethylene from stimulating fruit ripening, and fruit exposed to 1-methylcyclopropene, prevents ethylene from stimulating fruit ripening, and fruit exposed to 1-methylcyclopropene ripen much slower and have much less development of disorders that render the fruit unmarketable. The efficacy of 1-MCP is determined by a number of factors including fruit ripeness when treated with 1-MCP, subsequent storage conditions (including temperature and duration of storage), 1-MCP concentration and treatment duration.

Technical Abstract: Ripening of climacteric fruit is regulated by ethylene. As normal ripening requires the presence of ethylene as well as the capacity in fruit to perceive ethylene, management of ripening can be accomplished by inhibiting fruit ethylene production, ethylene removal from the storage environment, or by inhibiting the capacity in fruit to perceive the presence of ethylene. The discovery by Drs. Ed Sisler and Sylvia Blankenship at North Carolina State University that 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) interferes with the ability of plant tissue to bind ethylene provides a potential new tool for postharvest management of climacteric fruits. Research to date indicates the rate of many processes of ripening are significantly reduced following fruit exposure to 1-MCP, and that development of various postharvest disorders is reduced in the absence of ethylene action. Responses to 1-MCP in many climacteric fruit vary with cultivar, maturity at the time of treatment and other postharvest factors.