Bromeliads (members of the pineapple family) may be induced to flower by placing the plant in a plastic bag with a ripe fruit. what hormone is responsible for their flowering?

The gas is produced in trace amount by plants (virtually every part of the plant is capable of producing ethylene because it is a gas and it diffuses) and has an effect on plants. Ethylene gas is responsible for ripening of fruits, opening up of flowers and senescence and abscission of leaves. Also, when one puts a ripening fruit among unripe fruits, the unripe ones will ripen in a matter of days – because the ripe one produces ethylene gas which has en effect on the others. Commercially, farmers harvest fully developed bu unripe fruits and then expose them to ethylene gas to ripen when they reach the market. This alleviates food spoilage in transit.