We eat fruits every day. We can see that fruits are green and small when they are still attach on the tree. But do you know what causes them to grow and ripen?
What are the fruits hormones?
Cytokinins, gibberellic acid, abscisic acid and ethylene are fruits hormones.
What is ethylene?
à Known as Ethephon which is decomposed into ethylene form.
à Main natural plant hormone which is ripening agent for fruits.
à Affects the growth, development, ripening, and senescence (aging) of all fruits.
à Normally produced in small quantities by most fruits and vegetables.
à Many fruits produce larger quantities of ethylene and respond with uniform ripening when exposed to an external source of ethylene.
What are cytokinins, gibberellic acid and abscisic acid?
à Cytokinin is hormone that is exported from the seed.
à It causes cell division in the ovary wall.
à It adds some thickness to the wall of the growing fruit.
à Gibberellic acidis hormone which is exported to the wall of the ovary.
à It causes the rapid expansion of plant’s cells lea to increase in fruit’s ovary size.
à Abscisic acid produced by mother plants when fruit’s ovary size increasing.
à It causes embryo in the developing seeds to become dormant.
Structures of ethylene, cytokinins, gibberellic acid and
abscisic acid
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| Ethylene |
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Cytokinin  Abscisic acid |
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Gibberellic acid
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Fruit Growth
Fruit Ripening
In the diagram above on the left is an unripe fruit. It is hard, green, sour, has no smell, is mealy (starch present).
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