J Exp BotJClub
Fruit growth rate influences cortical xylem transport, calcium delivery, and bitter pit incidence of apple.
Journal of Experimental Botany · · Journal Article · Open access
Griffith, Einhorn
Abstract ↗AI summary
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In ‘Honeycrisp’ apple, decreasing sink:source ratio reduces xylem transport to 50% of maximum 1.7 weeks earlier and lowers peel calcium, increasing bitter pit incidence.
- Why it matters: Bitter pit is linked to fruit mass, but dilution alone does not reveal whether calcium transport kinetics or supply limits are responsible.
- What they did: Fruit growth rate was altered by changing sink:source ratio and by episodic limb shading to inhibit photosynthetic light reactions; xylem transport kinetics and peel calcium were measured and integrated into a time-dependent “cumulative xylem” function.
- The result: Xylem dysfunction and bitter pit incidence increased with decreasing sink:source ratio, and shade-driven FGR changes produced opposite, time-linked shifts in xylem transport and peel calcium, supporting transport-limited calcium supply.
The findingWhy it mattersWhat they didThe result
- Open access