This browning may relate to ethylene production
as it was hasten by treatment with exogenous ethylene
Browning was apparently not due to lack of carbohydrates, as sugar
treatment had no effect, and was also apparently not due to xylem plugging with microbes because antimicrobial compounds
(8-hydroxyquinoline sulphate (HQS) and dichloroisocyanuric acid (DICA)) were ineffective.