0406_ripening

=Natural Fruit Ripening By Robert Radke and Micheal Van Dyke=

Type of Reaction:
Synthesis

Chemical Equations
Ethylene + Starch = Fructose
 * C**2**H**4 + **C**6**H**10**O**5 = **C**6**H**12**O**6

Uses:
Fruit ripening is used to give humans and animals a source of food.

Why its most important:
Fruit ripening gives the world sweet and delicious food. Without fruit ripening the fruit you eat every day would be hard, sour mealy and green instead of the soft sweet taste everyone enjoys. Without fruit ripening, the fruit wouldn't give of their good smells so there would be no fruit candles or air fresheners.

Process:
Ethylene is the chemical that controls fruit ripening. Ethylene is spread through the plants vascular system and this tells the fruit to ripen. This is why if you place one ripe fruit with unripe fruits; they will all ripen faster. When the plant ripens, the starch in the fruit turns to sugar and the fruit becomes sweeter and more attractive to animals.