摘要：Climacteric and non-climacteric horticultural crops may be further differentiated by their response to applied ethylene production and during ripening. It has been clearly established that all fruit produced minute quantities of ethylene during development. However, coincident with ripening, climacteric fruits produce much larger amounts of ethylene than non-climacteric fruits. The difference between the two classes of fruit is further exemplified by the internal ethylene concentration found at several stages of development and ripening. The internal ethylene concentration measured in several climacteric fruits varies widely but that of non-climacteric fruits changes little during development and ripening. In addition to the natural inhibitors of ethylene action which have been postulated, there are 3 types of ethylene antagonists which may be applied exogenously to inhibit ethylene action. In this article, effect of ethylene on climacteric and non-climacteric horticultural crops and possibilities of using ethylene antagonists in postharvest physiology are given.
