Ethylene-Induced Senescence in Ornamental Flowers: Detection, Sensitivity, and Postharvest Mitigation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/jefa.2026.21.2.3Keywords:
Ethylene, ornamental flowers, postharvest senescence, vase life, 1-MCP, controlled atmosphere storageAbstract
Ethylene is a plant hormone that is well-recognized for its dominant role in the senescence, abscission, and quality deterioration of many ethylene-sensitive ornamental flowers, thus causing serious reduction in vase life and marketability. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge on biosynthesis mechanisms through ACS and ACO, and signaling of ethylene through receptors such as ETR/ERS, downstream transducers like EIN2/EIN3-EILs, and ethylene response factors, indicating how activation of these pathways accelerates wilting of petals, chlorophyll and pigment loss, organ abscission, and programmed cell death in a wide range of species. We discuss sources of natural and stress-induced ethylene production, such as pollination, mechanical injury, dehydration, or pathogen attack, and how very low concentrations, even in the range of ppb–ppm, can already provoke visible senescence. Ethylene detection methods are evaluated from laboratory techniques, including GC–FID and SPME-GC, through portable real-time sensors, for their applicability in the greenhouse, storage, transport, and retail environment. This review further discusses postharvest mitigation strategies, including preharvest cultivar selection for ethylene insensitivity, careful harvest and handling, chemical inhibitors such as 1-MCP, physical/atmospheric controls, use of ethylene-absorbing materials, including KMnO₄, activated carbon, and zeolites, and emerging approaches comprising nanomaterial-based scavengers, enzyme-based ACC deaminase systems, and genetic modification to modulate either biosynthesis or response pathways. Finally, we identify key challenges — among them the variation in sensitivity among different species/cultivars, absence of regular real-time monitoring across most supply chains, and environmental or regulatory concerns related to some inhibitors of action — and discuss future directions toward a more sustainable, data-driven management of ethylene, or with genetic or sensor-based strategies.
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