Scotts Company, Marysville, Ohio, has teamed up with biotechnology Company PlantGenix of Pennsylvania to modify ethylene production and therefore the ripening of fruit, vegetables and flowers. For floriculture the aim is to develop flowering plants with a greatly reduced sensitivity to ethylene. The work will identify the metabolic pathways of a plant that affect its response to ethylene. By blocking the response, the maturation response will slow down. Already with Petunias, they have made great progess and have plants where the flowers last as long as 15 days as an average.  Other varieties such as: Chrysanthemum, Euphorbia, Rhododendron and Lilium longiflorum have also been singled out as potential subjects for this research. FloraCulture International. www.plantgenix.com, E-mail: info@plantgenix.com