Pollination regulates a syndrome of developmental responses that contributes to successful sexual reproduction in higher plants. Pollination-regulated developmental events collectively prepare the flower for fertilization and embryogenesis while bringing about the loss of floral organs that have completed their function in pollen dispersal and reception. Components of this process include chang...

Pistillate flower abortion (PFA) is the loss of nut-producing pistillate flowers early in the season, typically 2 to 3 weeks after bloom. PFA is the principal factor limiting productivity in ‘Serr’ walnut while affecting other cultivars to lesser and varying degrees. Research by Vito Polito at UC Davis showed that excessive pollen tubes growing down the style of the walnut pistillate flower pro...

Although biochemists and geneticists have studied the cotton flower for more than one century, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying the dramatic color change that occurs during its short developmental life following blooming. Through the analysis of world cotton germplasms, we found that all of the flowers underwent color changes post-anthesis, but there is a diverse array ...

Pistachio is one of the most important horticultural crops in Iran.  There is a unique role for amino acids in the plant response to stressful conditions, and special physiological role for Arginine (Arg) compared to other amino acids.  The effects of this compound were investigated on vegetative and reproductive characters of bearing pistachio trees of ‘Ahmad-Aghaei’. The experiments were done...