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Ethylene
A colourless, faintly odorous gas. Ethylene is a potent plant hormone that tells fruits and vegetables that it's time to shut down their lifecycle
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Climacteric Fruit
Many fruits generate ethylene as they ripen. Apples, avocados, bananas, kiwi fruits, mangoes, peaches and pears (and many more) all produce ethylene
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Combustion
Combustion of any hydrocarbon creates trace amounts of ethylene during operation
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A Little Ethylene Does a Lot
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Critical ethylene concentration is exceptionally low
An ethylene concentration of 0.1 ppm can reduce the lifetime of postharvest perishables by up to 50% That's a level 4000 times lower than the concentration of carbon dioxide in air |
Accumulation of ethylene is a problem in many applications
Ocean reefer shipping containers Fruit storage rooms Distribution warehouses Greenhouses Packing houses |
Effects of Ethylene Accumulation
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Fruits Rot
Fruit stored for months under controlled atmosphere are at the greatest risk of ethylene damage
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Greens wilt and brown
Leafy greens don't produce ethylene but are exceptionally sensitive to it
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Flowers die
High value floriculture products drop petals and have blooms fail
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Berries go moldy
Ethylene greatly reduces the postharvest lifetime of berries
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Creates waste
Preventable food waste squanders the water, fertilizer, and land used to grow it
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And the problem is global
Hundreds of millions of tons of perishables are shipped and distributed around the globe every year
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