Effects of Ethylene on Cantaloupe Fruits Harvested at Various Ages

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Abstract
Cantaloupe fruits (Cucumis melo var. reticulatus), ranging in age from 10 to 30 days after anthesis, showed a climacteric rise in respiration and some or all of the gross phenomena associated with ripening, when they were held at 20[degree] after harvest. Treatment with ethylene induced an earlier climacteric and hastened ripening. Maximum responses were obtained with 100 ppm ethylene applied for at least 24 hours; the responses varied with age of fruit. In very young fruits, treatment for 6 or 12 hours caused only a temporary rise in respiration, which was often followed by a 2nd peak some days later. In fruits older than 20 days, the respiratory patterns and associated ripening changes were well-defined and more like those found in fully mature, naturally-ripened cantaloupe fruits, suggesting that physiological changes leading to natural ripening take place 20-25 days after anthesis.