https://sj.jst.go.jp/news/202603/n0306-01n.html

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genome-editing/articles/10.3389/fgeed.2025.1623097/full

The National Agricultural Research Organization and the University of Tsukuba have developed a muskmelon that can be ripened on demand, aiming to overcome the fruit’s relatively short shelf life and boost exports. The team inactivated a gene required to produce ethylene, which acts as a plant hormone to promote fruit ripening, and succeeded in keeping the melon firm and green for up to two months.

Photo shows a decaying melon 40 days after harvest (top) and a gene-edited melon in which ripening has been suppressed. (Photo courtesy of the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization)
Provided by Kyodo News