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The Effect of Temperature on Ripening Fruits

Ethylene, a gaseous fruit hormone, is produced as fruits ripen. As temperatures rise, ethylene production increases. Fruit placed in your refrigerator will ripen more slowly than fruit left in an open bowl on your kitchen counter. Placing fruit in a paper bag will capture much of the natural ethylene gas and speed the ripening process. Bananas are routinely picked green and treated with ethylene to begin the ripening process.

  1. Commercial Ripening

    • Growers routinely pick fruit when the ripening process has already begun. This enables the fruit to continue to ripen naturally without adding additional ethylene to complete the process. A fast rate of ripening occurs when the fruit is stored between 68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Slower ripening requires lower temperatures. Fleshy fruits such as peaches, nectarines, plums and pears are assessed for firmness using a fruit penetrometer. A pressure reading of 4 to 8 lbs. is ideal for transfer from warehouse to retail stores.

    Garden Tomatoes

    • A common problem for many home gardeners living in areas where the growing season is shortened by early frost is the need to accelerate ripening before decay or chilling injuries occur. Tomatoes are a good example of a fruit that requires careful monitoring late in the season. Regular-sized tomatoes need 40 to 50 days after blossoming to grow to the ripening stage. The red tomato pigments in ripening tomatoes are not produced in temperatures above 85 degrees Fahrenheit or below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Ripening Acceleration: Tomatoes

    • Garden tomatoes must be closely monitored to maximize crop yield.

      Tomato blossoms and shoots that appear late in the season, and have little chance of surviving to maturity, should be pruned to allow existing fruit to ripen. Similarly, tomatoes that have begun to show color should be removed to allow the smaller, green fruit to reach maturity. Covering tomato plants late in the season helps to protect nearly red fruit but green tomatoes in danger of frost damage are best brought indoors to ripen.

    Care of Assorted Fruits

    • Watermelon must ripen on the vine.

      Apples should be placed in cold storage or in the fruit and vegetable compartment of your refrigerator to maintain crispness after they are harvested. Most berries may be safely stored in the refrigerator for 3 to four days before eating. Oranges and cherries will last about a week under similar conditions. Papaya and pineapple are best stored at room temperature for ripening to occur. Watermelon must vine ripen. The fruit can be stored uncut at room temperature for up to two weeks.

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Growing Edibles
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  2. The Apricot Harvest in Michigan
  3. What Is the Earliest Ripening Pomegranate?
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  5. The Effect of Temperature on the Germination of Sunflower Seeds
  6. The Temperature for Pomegranate Trees
  7. The Effect of Temperature on Citrus Fruit
  8. How to Grow Fruits in the City
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  10. The Effect of Carbide in Fruit Ripening
  11. The Effect of Frost on Fruit Tree Blossoms
  12. The Effect of Temperature on the Leaves of a Maple Tree

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