Question

Defensive chemicals are usually found in unripe fruit but not in ripe fruit. In terms of coevolution, why might this be?

Answer 1

The basic reason why unripe fruits have defensive chemicals is that they need to protect the seeds that are not ready to germinate. On the other hand, the seeds of the ripe fruits are ready to germinate and so they need to get spread with the help of animals and birds and so there are no defensive chemicals. These seeds spread to different places and the soils help them to germinate under suitable conditions.