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Name: Katie N.
Status: Student
Age: 14
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: October 2003

Why do different fruits rot faster then others? e.g banana to a mandarin!

The term "rotting" is rather diffuse. It can mean attack by various microbes, or it can mean chemical changes within the fruit, by reaction with oxygen for example -- or both simultaneously, or it may refer to bruising of the cellular structure. The pH of the fruit, the amount of sugar (nutrients) present, the temperature, and many other factors all play a roll in the "rotting" process, so it is difficult to pin point a single cause.

Vince Calder

Rotting of different fruits: The rate depends upon what microbes are on them to begin with and what the chemical composition of the fruit is and what the water concentration of the colonized surface is.

Jeannine M. Durdik
Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

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