Fifty years ago, ethylene research ripened
Excerpt from the June 12, 1965, issue of Science News Letter
GETTING READY Ethylene, a gas, acts as a plant hormone. It tells fruits to ripen, roots to grow and seeds to germinate.
Vince Wingate/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Fruits caused to ripen by volatile ethylene — Apples turn red, bananas turn yellow and honeydew an icy white because of the volatile substance, ethylene, present in the plant tissues.