curing with ethylene gas?

[mr.brunch]

i have been reading about how most oranges grown in southern climates are green on the outside when picked.
ethylene gas is then used on them which breaks down the chlorophyll and "de-greens" them.

my question is , would this work with buds (harvested and dried for say, a week) to promote the cured flavors that the greenness hides.... thus speeding the curing process?

 

[MIway]

Ethylene is a trigger for ripening... Plants actually produce it. It's also a trigger for botrytis, just a heads up. Would think that with our drying process, it wouldn't work the same as with fruits.

 

[mr.brunch]

was thinking after drying.
little more...
Oranges look the most appealing when they are a deep, vibrant orange colour; but, on the tree, a mature orange is usually green-skinned. It will turn orange only if the cold temperature destroys the green chlorophyll pigments, allowing the yellow carotenoids underneath to show through. In warmer climates, oranges are always green; but, in the US, oranges are green only if they are picked in the fall before the first cold snap or if they are picked early in the spring when the tree is flooded with chlorophyll to nourish the coming new growth. Green oranges will also change colour if they are exposed to ethylene gas which, like the cold, breaks down the chlorophyll in the skin.

from: http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/fruits/orange.htm

 

[amannamedtruth]

Ew. No. Even veggies ripened with ethylene are gross.

 

[mr.brunch]

really? dont know if i have tried any. although all southern grown oranges are treated with this, so i must have i suppose.
heard they do this with tobacco too.
i am not speaking of ripening, or speeding crops up btw, i mean once harvested, fully dried, would this speed up the chlorophyll breakdown

 

[Sinkyone]

Ew. No. Even veggies ripened with ethylene are gross.

Yep. One of the main reason most fruits in US supermarkets taste like SHIT these days. Ethylene will technically ripen fruits, but when they are picked early and artificially ripened the natural sugars and other compounds that contribute to the flavor never get a change to build up. Hence fruits ripened this way have less sugar, and will taste pretty terrible compared to naturally ripened fruits. This is one of the main reason home grown fruits and veggies taste much better than the crap produce they sell in grocery stories now.

Not really sure how it would react to use it on harvested fully dried buds, but what's the point? Let it cure an dry normally, most methods to speed up the process just result in sub par bud.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

really? dont know if i have tried any

Tomatoes, bananas, avocados, et al. arrive at distribution centers green (as defined by the industry). They are loaded into 'ripening rooms' and ethylene gas is injected into these rooms under specific temperature ranges and time periods depending on a number of factors. These room are extremely expensive for the professional equipment. Beyond belief.

Tomatoes grown in Florida during the winter months are picked green and ethylene emitters are installed in the trailers to begin the 'ripening process' while the load is in transit to a warehouse where the real use of ethylene takes place.

CC

 

[yortbogey]

this has been in practice for almost 20yrs....

 

[mr.brunch]

Yep. One of the main reason most fruits in US supermarkets taste like SHIT these days. Ethylene will technically ripen fruits, but when they are picked early and artificially ripened the natural sugars and other compounds that contribute to the flavor never get a change to build up. Hence fruits ripened this way have less sugar, and will taste pretty terrible compared to naturally ripened fruits. This is one of the main reason home grown fruits and veggies taste much better than the crap produce they sell in grocery stories now.

Not really sure how it would react to use it on harvested fully dried buds, but what's the point? Let it cure an dry normally, most methods to speed up the process just result in sub par bud.

just curious i suppose, after seeing how the oranges "de-green" so effectively..... after all this is what we do when curing.
plus it would be nice if quicker curing was possible to save lots of buds sitting there when it is still an illegal commodity!

 

[Tonygreen]

I have a plant near the end of flowering that one of the buds is so heavy it is leaning o a branch of a plant next to it that is halfway through flowering. The buds on that branch have started swelling the rest of the plant is still in full pistil production.

 

[BruceLeeroy]

The oranges dont actuall "degreen" as effectively as you think. Any home gardener or local farmers market shopper can tell you how effective ethylene is at "degreening" tomatoes for example. I put the emphasis on "degreening" because that's exactly what I'd dies... It does NOT ripen the fruit which is why there is such a huge gap in taste between naturally ripened tomatoes and store bought. That said ,ethylene would do very little to curing pot as most life processes have ceased. Ethylene is used on fresh underripe still breathing fruits, not dried ones. Would be interesting as hell to use it in a controlled environment while they flowered though to See what would happen lol

 

[Hempe]

its probly safe to throw a couple green banana's below your plant near harvest time if you'd like, some fruits like kiwi will not fully ripen without the use of ethylene gas.

 

[TonyGreenHand]

Ethylene is a trigger for ripening... Plants actually produce it. It's also a trigger for botrytis, just a heads up. Would think that with our drying process, it wouldn't work the same as with fruits.

Do cannabis plants produce this chemical? I have had a few plants that ripen very quickly, and they are highly vulnerable to bud rot, is there a correlation?

 

[Tonygreen]

I've read it can/does lead to bud rot, perhaps with higher exposure? Its really wild because my lemon skunk are no where near done, and the ice cream are about ready and are falling over and I swear this branch of the lemon skunk is swelling and looking to finish when the rest of the plant is not anywhere near it, I'll try to get a pic tom if possible.

Could it be the one bad apple that spoils the bunch affect?

 

[Tonygreen]

hehe hempe I might try it on one of these lemon skunk that are not close to being done and see if I can duplicate the affect of my ice cream laying on the unfinished branch... In the name of science!

 

[Hempe]

SCIENCE!, i did this once, and i found that the side of the bannana i layed on the ground turned brown before the top. i think maybe the roots suck up the gas and then ripen it, but who knows, SCIENCE!

 

[Tonygreen]

http://www.springerlink.com/content/x721723pw3521157/

ethylene inducing parthenocarpy?

I Read some more...

Ethylene

Ethylene is a gaseous phytohormone, which stimulates transverse growth in plants. It is formed in all parts of plants, and occurs in high concentration in leaves, dormant buds and flowers undergoing senescence. Its formation increases with ripening of fruits. Excess of auxin also stimulates the production of ethylene. Ethylene is actively involved in inhibiting cell division in root and shoot meristems, promoting abscission and senescence of leaves, flowers and fruits, inhibiting the blossoming of flowers, breaking dormancy of different plant organs except lateral buds, stimulating feminizing effect, and accelerating fruit ripening due to sharp rise in respiration known as climacteric rise or climacteric, inducing epinasty and apical dominance.


I am starting to think overcrowding caused the huge stretching and late flowering of my lemon skunk I am currently watching finish like paint drying on a wall. lol


So it can at one point stunt flowering but later in life it promotes the aging of flowers,,, or ya idk,,,