Re: are fruits/vegetables still 'alive' after they are picked?

Yes, fresh fruits and vegetables remain alive until cooked, killed by
sub-freezing temperatures or they die naturally due to senescence. Apples can be
maintained in controlled atmosphere storage for over a year. To reduce the rate
of respiration:

1. The atmosphere is enriched in carbon dioxide (from 0.25% up to 2-5%)  
2. The oxygen level is reduced from about 21% to as low as 1 to 2%. 
3. The temperature is kept near freezing.

The relative humidity is kept about 95% to reduce water loss.


Many fruits and vegetables contain seeds that are also alive. Houseplants can be
grown from such seeds, including avocado, lemon, orange, grapefruit, date palm,
mango, papaya, kiwi and starfruit.  

Plants can be grown from the vegetative parts of many vegetables and some
fruits, e.g. the leafy top of a pineapple fruit. Students often grow potato
tubers and sweet potato roots. A ginger root, actually a rhizome, sprouts into a
nice houseplant with fragrant leaves. A carrot root with an intact shoot can be
planted again and it will flower if it has received enough of a cold treatment.


References


Apple Storage Technologies


Controlled Atmosphere Storage


Re: Need information on growing an avocado seed into a plant for science project