Ethylene Production, Respiration, & Internal Gas Concentrations in Cantaloupe Fruits at Various Stages of Maturity

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Abstract
The compositions of the internal atmospheres (CO2, O2, and ethylene) of cantaloupe fruits harvested at different stages of development were measured with sensitive gas chromatographs. Traces of ethylene appeared in melons harvested as young as 7 days from anthesis. In studies of harvested mature melons, a climacteric rise in respiration was demonstrated during ripening. Coinciding with, or immediately preceding, this rise in CO. evolution was a great increase in both internal and evolved ethylene, a decrease in internal O2 and an increase in internal CO2. A high but relatively constant ratio of gas concentrations between the central cavity of the fruit and the ambient atmosphere was observed for both ethylene and CO2, showing that a physiologically active ethylene concentration may exist in tissues, while the apparent rate of production is almost too low to detect. The role of ethylene remains obscure, but its concentration appears to be closely related to the ripening process in cantaloupes (Cucumis melo var. reticulatis, cultivar Powdery Mildew Resistant 45).