Phloem conductance from leaf to fruits in avocado during development

In avocado flower-to-fruit pedicels, phloem transport toward flowers is impaired, yet total conductance rises gradually as sieve tube number increases linearly up to fruit maturation.

• Why it matters: Fruit development in seed plants requires efficient nutrient delivery, but phloem structural changes in fruit pedicels across development are largely unknown.
• What they did: Using one-year avocado phenology, they measured water, dry matter, and NSCs in leaves, flowers, and fruits, and quantified phloem conduit geometry and sieve tube numbers in vein orders and flower-fruit pedicels over time.
• The result: NSCs stayed below 5% in leaves and fruits but peaked in flowers (fructose 20%, glucose 35%), with smallest conduits in flower pedicels; from flower to initial fruit set, sieve tube geometry shifted and their number increased linearly through maturation, supporting model-based conductance changes.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.