What are climacteric fruits?

There are certain fruits that, once they are plucked from the plants, can continue to ripen without problems if they have reached an adequate level of development. These are known as climacteric fruits , and they must be taken into account when we want to grow plants, especially if their fruits are edible.

Let us know more about this interesting concept.

Index

  • 1 A bit of history
  • 2 What are climacteric fruits?
  • 3 And non-climacteric fruits?

A little history

watermelons

The year was 1925 when Kidd and West coined the term “climacteric fruit” to describe the increase in respiration rate that accompanies the ripening of apples. Today, fruits are classified as climacteric or non-climacteric depending on whether or not their ripening is regulated mainly by ethylene , which is a gas that acts as a phytohormone.

All fruits, and indeed all parts of plants, produce this gas. But during maturation it plays a much more important role in climacteric fruits, which increase production in order to finish their development even when they are harvested. In the case of non-climacteric, the rate of ethylene production is almost invariable, so that once they are caught, they stop developing and dry up in a matter of a few days.

What are climacteric fruits?

Tomatoes

There are many more climacteric fruits than we might think, such as: tomatoes , avocados , mangoes , figs , guavas , custard apples , blueberries , kiwis , passion fruit

 , bananas and plantains , papayas , Japanese plums , or apples .

And the non-climacteric fruits?

cut grapefruit

Non-climacteric fruits are, for example , nuts , grapes , citrus fruits in general ( grapefruit , lemon , orange , tangerine ), olives , cherries , strawberries , peppers , lychees , prickly pears , raspberries , blackberries or carambola .

Have you heard of this concept?

What are climacteric fruits?

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