This manuscript has potential information generated from a series of experiments. This study used soil rich with soil microbes to delay the ripening of climacteric fruits. The soil was treated with nitrogen, a heavy metal, and ethylene gas. Its main purpose was to develop a method for inducing soil bacteria to biosynthesize a nitrile compound that potentially enters the plants' tissue and negatively affects climacteric ripening and delays fruit ripening. The information gathered here may be useful as a low-cost novel method to reduce post-harvest loss and preserve the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables. However, there are serious problems with the presentation and analysis of data, and a few other points that require much effort including; clarification, refinement, reanalysis, rewrites, and/or additional information and suggestions for what could be done to improve the article are also included.

Comments on abstract, title, references

• The title conveys the key features of the article.
• In the abstract section, the author(s) need to provide background information that gives context to the study. Also, to define the gap in knowledge that the paper addresses and rephrase the aim or research question.
• The author(s) could rephrase the aim such that, instead of "identifies a method" it could state that "to develop a method for inducing soil bacteria to biosynthesize a nitrile compound that potentially enters the plants' tissue and negatively affects climacteric ripening and delays the ripening process at 20-30˚C."
• The abstract begins with the findings, It is highly necessary that the author(s) have to provide a brief summary of the method or experimental design as well as the statistical analysis followed to obtain the results.
• The references are relevant to the study and have been referenced correctly. However, most citations are too old, the author(s) should supplement them with recent ones so as include appropriate key studies.

Comments on introduction/background

• The author(s) have clearly and remarkably included a comprehensive review of the empirical work as it is a general global practice that, all academic papers review previous studies carried out in the research area of interest. The author(s) have clearly stated the research question and justified it by giving what is already known about the exposure to ethylene/propylene, cobalt, and an ammonium compound induced the bacteria to produce a nitrile or cyanohydrin compound that delayed the ripening process in several species of climacteric fruit, but it would add more value if the last paragraph of the introduction was written in the past tense form instead of using present tense to elaborate the research gaps and objectives of the study. The author(s) began interpreting their results in this section, I recommend that they move it to the discussion and conclusions section.

Comments on methodology

• More clarification of the logic behind the research questions is required by adding detail to the methodology to understand exactly what was performed and how it was done.
• The author(s) need to elaborate more on the type of experimental design used in this study as well as the mean separation test followed for data analysis.
• The author(s) state that "The soil was treated with nitrogen, a heavy metal, and ethylene gas" but in the methodology section the comparison between these treatments and between the different fruits used in this study is not clearly shown. In order for the process of the subject selection to be clear, the study methods to be valid and reliable, and to provide more detail enough in order to replicate the study, it would be much more clear if the treatmets were compared amongst them and amongst the fruits treated. Moreover, the author(s) should define how the data on fruit colour, firmness, texture, bruising and spotting, fungal infection in all samples was measured/obtained.

Comments on data and results

• There is a need for reformatting the tables and figures. The tables and figures should show all treatments included in the study, they are hanging and do not present the actual findings of this study, the author(s) should present the results in an appropriate way by including all the treatments studied in order to be clear on the statistical inference and the claim of significant differences.
• The author(s) should avoid repeatition of the methods followed by writing again in the results section, but rather those methods elaborated here should be taken to the methology section.
• The author(s) have used photos as results and do not reflect on the kind of means separation test used, the author(s) should elaborate it clearly using clear tables or figures that compare between the treatments applied.
• The author(s) began interpreting their results in this section, I recommend that they move it to the discussion and conclusions section.

Comments on discussion and conclusions

• The discussion should be separated from the results section, it is recommended that the author(s) should discuss the results from multiple angles and place them into context without overinterpretation as what has been done here.
• Recent references should be cited to support the findings of this study, it would be of a value addition if the author(s) could focus on recent literature even from other studies and relevant crops or plants which delayed fruit ripening was enhanced using ethylene-induced soil microbes.
• The author(s) seem to conclude by staing the significance of the study as (This study can have global impacts. This study could be a useful tool for organic farmers in developing countries. The materials required for the project are cheap, and the final developed product would be reusable. A product developed with induction method will improve with each usage.).
• The author(s) should provide a clear conclusion based the results and provide a recommendation based on the conclusions. Therefore, the conclusions should better be supported by the results of the study rather than relying on references from previous studies.
• The limitations of the study are fatal, however, in the conclusion and recommendation section, the author(s) have suggested opportunities to inform future research as (Additional research should be conducted to study a broader scope of potential enzymes that and biological compounds required by PGPB to delay the climacteric ripening process), but it would add more value if it could be based on the results of the present study.