The influence of the progamic phase for fruiting in the apple tree

• Published in: Annals of applied biology Vol. 163; no. 1; pp. 82 - 90
• Main Authors: Losada, J.M., Herrero, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.2013; Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: apple; Biological and medical sciences; Flowers & plants; fruit drop; fruit set; fruiting; Fruits; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Malus; Plant reproduction; pollen tube growth; progamic phase; Plant production; Fruit set; progamic phase; Rosaceae; Pome fruit; Climacteric; Woody plant; Pollen tube; Temperate zone; fruiting; Abscission; Fruit drop; Apple; Applied biology; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Spermatophyta; Pollen pistil interaction; Malus; pollen tube growth; Fructification
• ISSN: 0003-4746; 1744-7348
• DOI: 10.1111/aab.12035

Final fruit production is the result of a number of processes, over which several environmental circumstances interact. But it is often difficult to disentangle the part played by each of these factors in the final crop. The aim of this work is to evaluate the influence of the progamic phase for fruiting in the apple tree. For this purpose we track back the process that goes from flower to fruit, identifying the inflection points where the final crop is reduced. We evaluate early versus late fruit development, pollination versus non‐pollination, and the effect of the progamic phase that goes from pollination to fertilization. From flowers to fruits 15 weeks elapsed, but the final fruit set settled 8 weeks after flowering, and the main flower–fruit drop occurred 3–4 weeks after flowering. Differences between dropped fruits and those that remained in the tree emerged earlier, and the onset of fruiting started 7 days after pollination. This time was coincident with the time lapse of the progamic phase. These results show that fruiting gets established well ahead of cropping, but also that the progamic phase is the main determinant of the final fruit set in apple trees.