Development of Cherry and Peach Fruits as Affected by Destruction of the Embryo

• Published in: Botanical gazette (Chicago, Ill.) Ill.), 1936-09, Vol.98 (1), p.1-24
• Main Author: Tukey, H. B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abscission; Cheek; Developmental biology; Drilling; Embryos; Fruiting; Fruits; Integument; Pericarp; Ripening
• ISSN: 0006-8071
• DOI: 10.1086/334615

1. Development of the fruit of the cherry and peach is in three clearly marked stages: stage I, rapid increase of the pericarp from about the time of fertilization to mid-season; stage II, retarded increase during mid-season; and stage III, second rapid increase to fruit maturity. 2. Embryos of three varieties of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus) and six varieties of peach (P. persica) were destroyed at various stages of development by jabbing through split pits with a needle and by drilling through the pericarp. Fruits which were wounded in the fleshy pericarp and stony pericarp but without injury to the embryo, and fruits which were attacked by insects, were also followed in development. 3. Destruction of the embryo early in stage II of fruit development resulted in abrupt check in fruit development, shriveling, and abscission. 4. Destruction of the embryo in the transition between stages II and III of development of the pericarp resulted in growth of the fruit at a rate similar to that of untreated fruit for a limited period, but ended with earlier ripening and failure to reach full size. 5. Destruction of the embryo in stage III of development of the pericarp resulted in increased growth rate and earlier ripening, and occasionally increased size over that attained by untreated fruits at maturity. 6. Wounding of the fleshy and stony pericarps, without injuring the seed, did not alter the growth rate of the fruit. 7. The nearer the ripening date typical of the variety at which the embryo was destroyed, the greater was the increase in growth rate of the pericarp. 8. Two factors seem involved in the relation between embryo and pericarp: (a) the stage of development of the fruit and of the embryo at which the embryo is destroyed, and (b) the genetic makeup of the variety controlling this relation. 9. Development of the embryo is shown to bear a definite relation to the development of the fruit quite distinct from the effect of fruit and seed formation upon the entire plant. 10. In early-ripening varieties of cherries and peaches it would seem that abortion of the embryo is the factor which affects pericarp development rather than the reverse. 11. Frost, insect attack, and pit splitting of peaches are discussed in relation to their effect upon the development of the embryo and of the fruit. The morphological nature of fruits is considered in this regard, together with nutritional factors.