Ethylene

Ethylene is a simple gaseous PGR. It is synthesised in large amounts by tissues undergoing senescence and by ripening fruits.

The influences of ethylene on plants include:

• promoting horizontal growth of seedlings, swelling of the axis and apical hook formation in dicot seedlings
• promoting senescence and abscission of plant organs, especially of leaves and flowers
• being highly effective in fruit ripening; it enhances the respiration rate during the ripening of the fruits, and this rise in the rate of respiration is called the respiratory climactic
• breaking seed and bud dormancy, and initiating germination in peanut seeds and the sprouting of potato tubers
• promoting rapid internode and petiole elongation in deep-water rice plants, helping the leaves and upper parts of the shoot to remain above water
• promoting root growth and root hair formation, thereby helping the plant to increase its absorption surface …