Abstract: When flowers were pre-treated with AOA to inhibit ethylene synthesis, the recovery of the flowers from inrolling was markedly enhanced after exposure to a lowdosage of ethylene(12h x 1μl/l),but it was not changed after exposure to a higher dose of ethylene (12h x 10μl/l).After the flowers were treated with the low dose of ethylene, the ethylene production rate in the recovered petals remained at low level similar to that in petals not exposed to ethylene.Ethylene production rate,ACC content and ACC oxidase activity in the non-recovered petals were greatly higher than in recovered petals.The recovery ability from inrolling of petals depends on the dose of ethylene and the capability to synthesis endogenous ethylene.T he differences in capacity to synthesis ethylene among the petals treated with the same dosage of ethylene may reflected the differences in sensitivity to ethylene of the petals.

Key words: Carnation, Ethylene, Response, Sensitivity