The various functions of Ethephon

When it comes to ethephon, the first thing that comes to people’s minds is that it is a commonly used plant growth regulator, which has the functions of accelerating fruit ripening, shedding and aging. In fact, this is only one of its effects. There are many more other effects of it? Today, let’s talk about the specific usage methods of it.

Ethephon is easily absorbed by plants and gradually releases ethylene in the plant body, enhancing the peroxidase activity of the plant, thereby reducing apical dominance and increasing effective tillers, making the plant shorter and stronger, and preventing it from falling over; it can also make plants infertile, result earlier, promote early and uniform fruit ripening; it also has the effect of causing cotton to shed leaves and tea trees to shed buds; it can also be used as a fruit ripening agent.

I. Promoting Fruit Ripening

Experiments have shown that during the natural ripening process of fruits, ethylene is produced. Ethylene can regulate a series of activities such as enzymes, nucleic acids, and respiratory metabolism in the fruits, thereby promoting fruit ripening. When the ethylene solution penetrates the plant body, it will release ethylene at different rates depending on the cell pH value, accelerating fruit ripening.

1. Methods for treating tomatoes:

(1) Seed soaking method: Pick the green and ripe tomatoes in the ripening stage and soak them in 1500 ppm ethylene for about 1 minute. Remove them, drain the water, and place them in bamboo baskets, warm beds, or greenhouses. Control the temperature at 22-25℃. After 2-3 days, most of the fruits will turn red.

(2) Fruit coating method: After the tomatoes enter the ripening stage, half a month before harvest, use cotton balls, brushes, etc. to dip 2000-3000 ppm ethylene solution on the fruits, or use gauze, gauze gloves, etc. to wipe the fruits. This can make the fruits mature 6-8 days earlier, increasing the early red fruit yield, and the red ripeness and quality are better. When coating the fruits, only the majority of the epidermis or fruit surface needs to be coated, because after ethylene treatment, it can circulate within the fruit, even if some parts are not fully coated, the entire fruit will still ripen. This treatment can increase work efficiency and save labor.

(3) Fruit spraying method: To promote the early market entry of spring tomatoes and improve work efficiency, during the ripening stage of the first and second harvest fruits, use 800-1000 ppm ethylene solution directly to spray the fruits, which can accelerate the turning red and mature 5-7 days earlier, increasing the early yield. When spraying the fruits, try to avoid spraying the solution on the stems and leaves.

(4) Spraying the plant method: This method is suitable for one-time harvest processing tomatoes. It is labor-saving and simple, but it is necessary to strictly control the spraying period and concentration. Generally, when most of the fruits have turned red and there are still some green fruits, to accelerate the ripening of these fruits, use 1000 ppm ethylene solution to spray the entire plant. In this way, the tomato slices will quickly turn yellow, the green fruits will mature faster, and the proportion of red ripe fruits will increase significantly during harvest. If ethylene is sprayed on the plant before the ripening stage, it can accelerate the red ripening by 5-6 days, but the concentration should be lower, preferably 500-1000 milligrams per liter. Otherwise, it is easy to cause yellow leaves and leaf drop.

2. Pepper: When the fruit skin changes color, use 1000-4000 milligrams per liter ethylene to soak the fruits, which can accelerate fruit ripening and color change. You can also spray 1000 milligrams per liter ethylene in the field to promote ripening, but it is prone to cause leaf drop.

3. Watermelon: Before the fruit has fully grown but is not yet ripe, spray 300-500 milligrams per liter ethylene on the fruits, which can make the fruits mature 5-7 days earlier. Since the watermelon fruits are large, spraying the solution on the fruits only usually does not cause harm to the plants.

4. Grape ripening: The experiment shows that for varieties such as giant bees, when the fruit begins to ripen, spray or dip 250-300 milligrams per kilogram ethylene on the fruit clusters, which can accelerate ripening by 6-8 days, and it can be eaten on the fifth day after spraying.

When using ethylene to ripen grapes, the following points should be noted:

① The concentration should be appropriate. If the concentration is too low, the effect will not be obvious. However, if the concentration is higher than 500 milligrams per kilogram, it is likely to cause fruit drop.

② The optimal treatment time is when the fruit begins to mature. For colored varieties, the color starts to develop, and for white varieties, the fruit clusters slightly turn yellow. This is the most effective period for treatment.

③ The most suitable concentration for ripening different varieties varies. In production, experiments should be conducted to determine the treatment concentration and method.

④ Since ethylene has the effect of promoting the formation of abscission layers, using ethylene alone to ripen grapes often leads to fruit detachment, making grape clusters less resistant to storage and transportation. To alleviate this side effect, 10-20 milligrams per kilogram of tributyrin or 10-15 milligrams per kilogram of 2,4,5-T can be added when using ethylene, which has a good effect in preventing fruit detachment.

II. Promoting Female Flower Differentiation

Cucurbit vegetable crops are hermaphroditic plants with both male and female flowers. During the differentiation process of male and female flowers, in addition to the main factors of genotype expression, different hormone levels can affect the differentiation of gender. When the flower buds of cucurbit vegetables are not differentiated, treating them with ethephon can significantly increase the number of female flowers. Generally, 150 milligrams per liter of ethephon is sprayed on the leaf surface 1 to 3 times at the 1st to 5th leaves of cucumber, the 1st to 4th leaves of pumpkin, and the 2nd leaf of melon. At the 1st to 3rd leaves of cucumber, spraying 50 to 250 milligrams per liter of ethephon 1 to 3 times can have a male-killing effect and is often used for field seed production of cucumber.

III. Promoting Plant Dwarfing

Spraying 240-960 milligrams per liter of ethephon on 1-4 leaves of cabbage, celery, carrot, radish, eggplant, tomato, and pumpkin will slow down the growth rate of the plants and cause them to stop growing. It breaks the plant’s dormancy. Ethephon has the effect of breaking dormancy and promoting germination. For example, soaking potatoes in 50-200 milligrams per liter of ethephon can increase the number of buds, and treating ginger can promote its germination and increase its branches.

Cotton control: IBA + DA-6 + ethephon is abbreviated as EBH. Its formulation is 30% and 40% aqueous solution, diluted 1500 times for use, with a dosage of 20-30 ml per mu. It is a plant growth regulator that has become popular for controlling cotton plant height in recent years and is also a plant growth regulator for controlling the height of corn plants.