Question

Which combination is used in fruit ripening?
A. 80% $C{H_4}$ + 20% ${O_2}$
B. 80% ${C_2}{H_2}$ + 20% $C{O_2}$
C. 80% $C{O_2}$ + 20% ${C_2}{H_2}$
D. 80% $C{H_4}$ + $C{O_2}$

Answer 1

Hint: Fruit ripening is the process in fruits that causes them to become more palatable. By ripening of fruit, they become sweeter, less green, normally redder and softer because they ripen. Due to the ripening of fruit, the acidity of fruit increases as it ripens. The fruit does not seem tarter due to the higher acidity. Fruits ripen a banana, tomato, and pear.

Complete answer:
- Ethylene is a gaseous hormone in plants. It is also known as the ripening hormone.
- To accelerate the fruit ripening process externally, the ethylene hormone is used.
- During the process of ripening, along with ethylene, a controlled amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide is required.
- 80% ${C_2}{H_2}$ and 20% $C{O_2}$ is used for the artificial ripening of fruits.
- A combination of $C{H_4}$ and ${O_2}$ is used as an optimal fuel.
- A combination of 80% $C{O_2}$ and 20% ${C_2}{H_2}$ is used in the germination of lettuce seed.
- $C{H_4}$ and $C{O_2}$ are greenhouse gases.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Additional information:
- Ethylene hormone is used in ripening fruits.
- Fruits such as banana, tomato, and pear are harvested just before ripening has started.
- The concentration of ethylene found in ripening rooms is not harmful or toxic to humans.
- Natural fruit ripening is a mixture of physiological, molecular, and biochemical processes.

Note: Fruit ripening is the process by which fruits become more palatable. Fruit ripening is a chemical change, in this process the pigment present in the skin of the fruit changes and it cannot get back to its original position. It is a process in which fruit once ripened cannot turn raw again. Ethylene hormone that is produced during the ripening of fruit mobilizes the genes to produce the enzyme responsible for the ripening of fruit. Along with ethylene, oxygen and carbon dioxide are also required for the fruit ripening.