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Name: Brooke Jordan
Title of lab: Plant growth substances- Ethylene
Aim:
1. To demonstrate that ripened fruits produce a substance whichpromotes ripening.2. To inestigate the e!ect of ethylene concentration on the rate of
ripening fruits.
Apparatus:
• " 1 gallon #iploc clear plastic bags.
• 12 green but mature $full% tomatoes of appro&imately same si'e and
from same species.
• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 2 oer ripe tomatoes
• 1 color chart $showing di!erent ripening stages%
Method:
(i& small hole appro&imately ).*cm in diameter was made at the edges of the 'ip lock bag. Two green tomatoes were placed in each of the + #iploc
bag. ,ne bag was the control and no additional fruit was place in this bag.
n additional ripe tomato was placed in the second #iploc bag and an
additional oerripe tomato was placed in the third #iploc bag. The tomatoes
were obsered oer a *-day period.
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Results / observations
Bags Day 1 Day 2 Day Day !B1 -Two
tomatoes
fully green
-Two
tomatoes
fully green.
,ne tomato
fully green.
The other
tomatoes
green with
break in color
from green to
tarnish yellow
Both tomatoes
light red with hints
of green.
B2 Two
tomatoes
full green
one
tomato at
turning
stage.
2) of the
surface
show a
change in
color to
pink and
the rest of
the tomato
green.
Two tomatoes
fully green
/ one tomato
at turning
stage. ") of
the surface
show a
change in
color to pink
and the rest
of the tomato
green.
Two tomatoes
green with
break in color
from green to
tarnish yellow.
,ne fully red.
Two tomatoes light
red and one fully
red.
B+ two
tomatoes
fully green additional
tomato is
pinkish
red.
Two tomatoes
green with
break in colorfrom green to
tarnish yellow
,ne fully red.
Two tomatoes
green with
break in colorfrom green to
tarnish yellow
,ne fully red.
Two tomatoes fully
red.
,ne tomato red.
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"re#autions0
1. oles were placed in the #iploc bag to allow o&ygen to pass through
which aided in respiration.2. control was used to compare results and aided in the accuracy of the
readingsobserations.
$our#es of error:
1. ll bags were not fully closed.2% 3ot all of the green tomatoes were not fully green or at the same
stage thus some ripened faster than the others.
&imitation:
1% 4ipening of fruits due to other factors such as temperature.
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Dis#ussion0
Ethylene is produced and released by rapidly-growing plant tissues. 5t is
released by the growing tips of roots/ 6owers/ damaged tissue/ and ripening
fruit. The hormone has multiple e!ects on plants. ,ne is fruit ripening.
4ipening is a term applied to fruit that describes the transition from
physiological maturity to senescence $ageing and death of the plant
tissues%. 5t is a deelopmental stage eoled to facilitate reproduction by
preparing the seed-bearing organ for detachment from the plant. 4ipening is
the start of signi7cant biochemical and physiological transformations/ suchas changes in skin color/ internal 6esh softening/ aroma deelopment and
sweetening. 4ipening generally begins after fruit has reached ma&imum si'e
and is physiologically mature.
5n this e&periment tomatoes were place in a plastic bag both ripe and unripe
to speed up the e!ects of the gas ethane produce. ole were placed in the
bags to allow students to obsere the di!erent changes in odor. 5n addition to
that/ ripe tomatoes were place with unripe tomatoes because when fruits are
together/ the ethylene each piece emits prods the others around it to ripen
further/ and ice ersa.
5n bag one only two green tomatoes were place in the #iploc bag and it was
obsered oer the four-day period. ,n obseration only at day three ,ne
tomato fully green while the other tomato was green with break in color from
green to tarnish yellow. 8hile at day 9 both tomatoes light red with hints of
green. The tomatoes in these bag took the longest to start turning and at the
end of the 9-day period although most of the tomato:s surface was red they
weren:t fully ripe as there were hints of green. This happened because there
was a low concentration of ethylene as there was no ripe tomatoes placed in
this bag and as a result the ripening process took longer.
The contents of bag 2 ripened faster than those of bag 1. t day 9/ thetomatoes that were fully green at day one were fully red and the half ripe
fruit was fully red which signaled that it was at the semi-ripened stage.
Because a half ripe tomato was place in this bag the ethane concentration
was greater than in bag 1 and as a result ripening was achieed at a faster
rate.
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4ipening was achieed the fastest in bag +. t the end of the four-day period
all three tomatoes were dark red and fully ripe. This happened because at
day one an oer oerripe tomato was place with two green tomatoes. This
happened because the riper a fruit is/ the more ethylene it produces/ and
thus an oerripe fruit gies o! een more ethylene/ eentually leading to a
concentration of the gas that:s enough to ripen the green tomatoes thatwere tested with it.
The knowledge gained can be instructie in shipping agents of fruits and
egetables as they can use ethylene to fasten up the length at which the
fruits handled ripens and thus increase the cost of distribution also from this
e&periment they can gain knowledge on the perfect time period in which
ethylene should be use and as a conse;uence after the good are remoed
from the shipment ready to be distributed most fruitegetable should be
ripe not oerripe as the speci7c methods and concentration were use when
using ethylene.
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'on#lusion :
5n this lab the hormone ethylene which use as a ripening agent was
inestigated. 8hen the ripe tomatoes were place with unripe tomatoes
because when fruits are together/ the ethylene each piece emits prods the
others around it to ripen further/ and ice ersa. lso it was seen the riper
the fruit that were place with the unripe fruits/ ripening was achieed fasteras the riper a fruit is/ the more ethylene it produces/ and thus an oerripe
fruit gies o! een more ethylene/ eentually leading to a concentration of
the gas that:s enough to ripen the green tomatoes that were tested with it. 5t
is concluded that the higher the ethylene concentration is/ the faster fruit
ripening will be achieed.