Why should you keep plants and flowers away from fruits?

To protect themselves from drying out, plants and trees drop their buds, blooms and leaves. For cut flowers and potted plants this dropping is often the result of over-production of the growth hormone ethylene; the only known gaseous, naturally occurring plant growth hormone. Ethylene gas regulates the ripening/ageing of cut flowers, potted plants, fruits and vegetable fruits. Ethylene gas is therefore purposely used to promote the ripening of fruit and the blooming of potted plants.