Plant Ripening

Process description

Climacteric fruits (maturing fruits), such as bananas, are frequently harvested before the completion of their ripening process. This is because they usually have a long journey to the final consumer and are subjected to a natural post-ripening process during transport and later storage. Climacteric fruits include apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, pears, figs, kiwis, mangoes, papayas, passion fruit, peaches, plums or tomatoes.  

Messer solution

So that all the fruit in one delivery ripens at the same time it is exposed to an ethylene enriched atmosphere. Ethylene is a phytohormone which is responsible for the growth and maturity of reproductive organs and fruit bodies, it is produced by the fruit itself from at a certain degree of maturity. The natural ripening process is accelerated by targeted gassing with ethylene and the ripening time can be precisely determined.

Advantages:

• Simplified logistics
• Cost savings

Messer provides a prepared gas mixture ("Banana gas") for post-ripening of fruit; it consists of 96% nitrogen and 4% ethylene.