3. Results
3.1. Effect of NO treatment on ethylene production
Ethylene production from control shoots increased rapidly and achieved a climacteric peak on the 4th day, decreasing gradually (Fig. 1). The shoots treated with 0.5 mM SNP also exhibited a climacteric rise after 4 days similar to control shoots, but the level was lower. SNP treatment markedly suppressed ethylene production at 10 °C. On the 4th day, ethylene production in treated shoots was significantly lower than that of the control shoots (P < 0.05).