In the present work we used two maize cultivars in which root meristem responded differently to root tip excision: in Interkras-375 MW we observed meristem opening due to the activation of cell divisions in the quiescent center (QC), while in Krasnodar-194 MW the meristem remained closed. Excised root tips of Interkras M B-375 were shown to produce much more ethylene than excised root tips of Krasnodar-194 MW The inhibitor of ethylene biosynthesis L-α-ethoxyvinyl 2amino-glycine-HCl (AVG) and inhibitors of ethylene action AgNO3 and 1-methyl-cyclopropene (MCP) prevented meristem opening in excised root tips of Intekras-375 MW. The obtained results allow us to conclude that ethylene plays an important role in the activation of cell divisions in the QC of excised root tips.