Climacteric fruits such as bananas require ethylene to ripen. Ethylene production is oxygen-dependent. Therefore, the removal of oxygen during storage is expected to reduce the rate of ripening. In this lab, you will test to determine how access to oxygen affects ripening rate.
Materials
- Foil
- 4 green bananas (or as green as you can get them)
- Large ziploc bag
Procedure
- Obtain 4 green bananas that are all at the same level of maturity (based on green color)
- Separate into two batches and label as batch 1 and batch 2
- Take a side-by-side picture of the two batches
- Leave both batches sitting on your kitchen counter for 3 days. However, you should wrap batch 2 in foil paper and then place the batch in a ziploc bag. Make sure to remove as much air as possible from the bag as you seal it. Batch 1 must not be wrapped. Just leave it sitting on the counter.
- After three days, remove the foil and compare batches for color
