Stimulatory effect of methyl jasmonate on the ethylene production in tomato fruits

Summary Methyl jasmonate at a concentration of 0.5% in lanolin paste was applied to detached mature green and red ripe tomatoes cv. Tempo. One to 10 days after treatment, slices were cut at a depth of about 2 mm for ethylene determination. It was found that methyl jasmonate strongly stimulated ethylene production both in green and red fruits, production was about 1.6 to 7.9 times higher than in control tissue.Acknowledgments. We wish to thank Dr E. Demole, Firmenich SA, Geneva, Switzerland, for the gift of authentic (±)-methyl jasmonate and Mrs H. Sas for her excellent technical assistance.