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CAPE Biology Plan and Design

This experiment aimed to determine the effect of wrapping fruits on their ripening process. Various fruits were placed in sealed containers and unsealed areas to observe color and texture changes over one week. It was hypothesized that wrapped fruits would ripen faster due to being in a closed environment where ethylene gas produced by the fruits remains concentrated, accelerating the ripening process. In contrast, unwrapped fruits in open areas were expected to ripen more slowly as ethylene can diffuse away.

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Daniel McDougall
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1K views2 pages

CAPE Biology Plan and Design

This experiment aimed to determine the effect of wrapping fruits on their ripening process. Various fruits were placed in sealed containers and unsealed areas to observe color and texture changes over one week. It was hypothesized that wrapped fruits would ripen faster due to being in a closed environment where ethylene gas produced by the fruits remains concentrated, accelerating the ripening process. In contrast, unwrapped fruits in open areas were expected to ripen more slowly as ethylene can diffuse away.

Uploaded by

Daniel McDougall
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Plan and Design

Title: Hormonal control of fruit ripening

Hypothesis: Wrapping fruits causes them to ripen faster

Aim: To determine the effect of wrapping fruits on their ripening process

Apparatus: avocadoes, mangoes, paw paws, bananas, small containers, marker

Method:

1. Obtain all necessary fruits.


2. Wash them with clean water and dry with a paper towel.
3. Place an avocado, mango, paw paw and banana in three containers each labelled 1, 2 and 3.
Place the containers in adjacent rooms on countertops.
4. Next to each container place one of each fruit together on the countertop. Label them 4, 5
and 6.
5. Record the initial colour and texture of the fruits.
6. Observe for a period of one week.

Expected results and observation:

Fruit group # Description of fruit


Colour before Colour after Texture after Texture before
1
2
3
4
5
6

It is expected that the fruits in containers would have a greater colour change and become the
softest in texture. The fruits in the open are expected to have a smaller colour change and be harder
than those in containers.

Discussion:

Climacteric fruits refer to fruits that have high respiration rate during the fruit's ripening. During the
ripening process of climacteric fruits, there is an abundant production of ethylene. Climacteric fruits
are able to ripen after being picked. Examples of climacteric fruits are bananas, mango, papaya etc.
Tropical climacteric fruits may be harvested at the physiologically mature but unripe stage. They are
harvested at this early stage to enable the industry to better control their quality during the
handling, transport and final marketing of these fruits. Non-climacteric fruits are fruits that do not
increase ethylene production when they ripen.

Ethylene is a naturally occurring, gaseous organic compound and is produced in all higher plants.
Production of ethylene varies with the type of tissue, the plant species, and the stage of
development. The presence of this plant hormone will trigger many physiological changes in the
plant, including flower induction, fruit development and ripening. It is normally produced in small
quantities by fruits and responds with uniform ripening when exposed to an external source of
ethylene.
Ethylene has many effects on climacteric fruits such as colour change, softening of texture,
production of new aromatic compounds and increase in sweetness.

The green colour of the unripe fruit is due to the presence of chlorophyll in chloroplasts. As the fruit
ripens, these chloroplasts change to become chromoplasts. These are organelles with a very similar
structure to a chloroplast, but containing pigments other than chlorophyll.

Fruits tend to become softer as they ripen. This is generally the result of the breakdown of their cell
walls. The middle lamella (the part of the cell wall midway between two adjoining plant cells, made
up largely of pectin) is partially hydrolysed. This makes it easier for the cells to separate from one
another. The pectin also becomes more hydrated, which helps to make the fruit juicier.

Each kind of fruit has a typical scent and flavour, which is due to a particular set of chemical
substances produced as it ripens. The typical banana flavour, for example, is caused by isopentyl
acetate and isobutyl acetate. The amounts of these substances build up as the fruit ripens. Many of
these ‘flavour’ compounds are volatile – that is, they change readily to a gaseous form and spread
into the air around the fruit.

As the fruit ripens, starch is changed to sugar. The sugars may include glucose, fructose (‘fruit
sugar’) and sucrose. Unlike starch, sugars dissolve in water inside cells. This decreases the water
potential inside the cell, so that more water moves into the cells by osmosis. This makes the fruit
juicier.

The fruits in the containers were softer in texture and had a greater colour change. This happened
because they were in a closed environment. All the ethylene that was produced by the fruits
remained in the container which sped up the ripening process.

The fruits that were not sealed were harder and had a smaller colour change. This happened
because they were in an open environment. Most of the ethylene that was produced by the fruits
was blown away by wind or diffused away from the fruit.

Limitations:

1. Not all fruits produce the same amount of ethylene at the same rate which may cause some
to ripen faster than others
2. Due to colon bias of humans the results may be slightly wrong.

Possible sources of error:

1. If the container is not sealed properly of if the seal is broken this may cause ethylene to
diffuse out.
2.

Precautions:

1. Make sure that the fruits come from the same source so that they can be as similar as
possible.
2. Make sure that the fruits are at the same stage of maturity.

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