Question

Ethylene and Calcium Carbide are used to ripen fruits. Are these
chemicals harmful? Justify your answer

Answer 1

Answer:

Unsaturated hydrocarbons such as acetylene, ethylene etc. can promote ripening and induce colour changes effectively. Although the cosmetic quality of such artificially ripened fruits was found to improve, organoleptic quality was impaired especially when harvested fruits are subjected to treatment without considering their maturity status. Besides, the quantity of ripening agent required to induce ripening for better cosmetic quality, including appearance will be much more than conventional dose, when properly mature fruits are not used for such purposes.