Rate of Ripening of Initiated Bananas as Influenced by Oxygen and Ethylene1,2

Abstract The ability of initiated bananas to ripen at rates close to those considered normal was found to be ethylene dependent in low oxygen concentrations. Fruit denied ethylene by low oxygen treatments, which reduced the fruit's ability to produce ethylene, ripened far slower than similarly treated fruit receiving exogenous ethylene. A sequence of ripening changes was proposed to account for the present knowledge of ripening.