{"id":161520,"date":"2026-02-12T12:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T12:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/161520\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T12:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T12:30:10","slug":"why-valentines-roses-wilt-and-how-ut-arlington-scientists-are-trying-to-stop-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/161520\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Valentine\u2019s roses wilt \u2014 and how UT Arlington scientists are trying to stop it"},"content":{"rendered":"

While Valentine\u2019s Day is a time to celebrate love, for the 250 million roses<\/a> and other floral bouquets produced for the holiday, it means a slow death. <\/p>\n

That countdown is driven in part by ethylene, a natural plant hormone that speeds up aging in cut flowers. Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington are testing new ways to blunt ethylene\u2019s effects, with the goal of helping bouquets and fresh produce last longer. Here\u2019s what to know.<\/p>\n

What is ethylene?<\/p>\n

Plants produce ethylene<\/a> \u2014 an odorless, colorless gas \u2014 as they age, when damaged and in response to shifts in temperature, sunlight and other environmental stressors. <\/p>\n

News Roundups<\/p>\n

Catch up on the day’s news you need to know.<\/p>\n

By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Rasika<\/p>\n

Rasika Dias is a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Arlington.<\/p>\n

UT Arlington<\/p>\n

\u201cEthylene plays a vital role in nature, from fruit ripening to leaf drop to seed germination,\u201d Rasika Dias<\/a>, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UT Arlington leading the research, said in a news<\/a> release. \u201cFor instance, fruits such as bananas, avocados and pears ripen because of ethylene. This ripening process transforms starch into sugars, which explains why ripe fruit tastes sweet.\u201d <\/p>\n

Because ethylene can drift through the air, it can affect nearby plants, which is why a ripe banana can speed the ripening<\/a> of other fruit. Depending on how much ethylene is circulating, the gas can visibly age a plant, triggering the yellowing and dropping of leaves, and shortening how long a bouquet can last, according to the American Floral Endowment<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Shipping and storage can amplify those aging effects. Stress and mechanical damage can spur plants to release more ethylene, hastening deterioration unless growers and distributors intervene with anti-ethylene treatments.<\/p>\n

Switching off ethylene<\/p>\n

To slow ethylene\u2019s effects, floral and produce industries often use 1-methylcyclopropene<\/a>, or 1-MCP, a chemical discovered in the mid-1990s. It works like an ethylene decoy, attaching to the same places in plant cells that ethylene normally would. But unlike the gas, 1-MCP doesn\u2019t trigger ripening or aging. Instead, it blocks ethylene\u2019s signal from getting through, slowing a plant\u2019s wilting or a fruit\u2019s ripening. <\/p>\n

But using 1-MCP has drawbacks. The chemical is highly reactive, can be tricky to handle and typically must be applied in sealed or enclosed spaces to work effectively, according to the American Floral Endowment<\/a>. And because its effects can last for an extended period, 1-MCP may prevent some fruits<\/a> from ripening. <\/p>\n

\"Fruits<\/p>\n

Fruits are seen at a Kroger Marketplace store, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Plano.<\/p>\n

Chitose Suzuki \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

With support from the American Floral Endowment and the United States Department of Agriculture, Dias and his lab at UT Arlington are testing alternatives to 1-MCP that aren\u2019t volatile. Some of the most promising candidates include compounds built around metals such as copper<\/a>. To see whether they slow the wilting process, the researchers take about 30 freshly cut flowers and divide them into three groups: untreated, treated with existing commercial products and treated with the new compounds. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou monitor how long each group lasts \u2014 how fast petals drop, how quickly they wilt,\u201d Dias said in the news release. \u201cIf the treated flowers last significantly longer than the untreated ones, that compound shows promise.\u201d <\/p>\n

In addition to helping with flowers, Dias hopes the research will reduce food waste. In 2019, 66.2 million tons of wasted food were generated in the food retail, food service and residential sectors, with about 60% ending up in landfills; another 40.1 million tons came from food and beverage manufacturing and processing, according to a 2019 report by the Environmental Protection Agency<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cFruits and vegetables are thrown away when they over-ripen \u2014 bananas turn brown, tomatoes become too soft and people won\u2019t buy them,\u201d Dias said. \u201cThis is a major issue during shipping, since most food travels long distances. Without treatment, much of it deteriorates before reaching stores. That\u2019s a huge economic and food-security problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam Fauzia is a science reporting fellow at The Dallas Morning News. Her fellowship is supported by the University of Texas at Dallas. The News makes all editorial decisions.<\/p>\n

\"Christopher<\/a>Former Biote employee alleges the company\u2019s sleep supplement caused liver damage<\/a><\/p>\n

A former employee and his wife are suing Irving-based Biote and alleging a sleep supplement caused serious liver injury.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/a>Texas is funding research into the psychedelic ibogaine. Here\u2019s what to know<\/a><\/p>\n

The drug has drawn interest for treating addiction and PTSD, but questions remain.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>How the environment may affect your breast cancer risk<\/a><\/p>\n

Scientists are exploring how environmental exposures may influence the disease over time.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Texas cattle ranchers fear the return of a flesh-eating pest<\/a><\/p>\n

The insect was eradicated in the 1970s, but is back and has agricultural folks worried.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While Valentine\u2019s Day is a time to celebrate love, for the 250 million roses and other floral bouquets…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[150,152,151,1972,242,4919,51770],"class_list":{"0":"post-161520","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arlington","8":"tag-arlington","9":"tag-arlington-headlines","10":"tag-arlington-news","11":"tag-holidays","12":"tag-lifestyle","13":"tag-science-and-medicine","14":"tag-valentines-day"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}