Alternate bearing (AB) is the process in fruit trees by which cycles of heavy yield (ON crop) one year are followed by a light yield (OFF crop) the next. Heavy yield usually reduces flowering intensity the following year. Despite its agricultural importance, how the developing crop influences the following year's return bloom and yield is not fully understood. It might be assumed that an 'AB si...

To study the effect of Zn and B as foliar spray on growth and yield of sweet orange, cv. Blood red at Dargai, Malakand Agency, Pakistan during 2006 and 2007. The micronutrients zinc (Zn) in the form of zinc sulphate (ZnSo4.7H2O) as zinc source at the rate of 0.5 % and 1.0 % and boron (B) in the form of boric acid (H3BO3) at the rate of 0.02 % and 0.04 % were applied as foliar spray at three dif...

Why do ripe fleshy fruits contain secondary metabolites, sometimes in concentrations that make the fruits toxic to vertebrates? And how do the chemical and physical characteristics of fruits influence choice by frugivores? These questions have drawn the attention of those interested in understanding the adaptive roles of fruit traits (see Cipollini and Levey, 1997a, b,c; Cipollini, 2000). Howev...

Fruit-set in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) depends on gibberellins and auxins (GAs). Here, we show, using the cv MicroTom, that application of N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA; an inhibitor of auxin transport) to unpollinated ovaries induced parthenocarpic fruit-set, associated with an increase of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) content, and that this effect was negated by paclobutrazol (an inhibito...

Apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a key pest in apple (Malus spp.) production areas located in the northeastern and midwestern United States and the eastern provinces of Canada. The development of Surround WP has offered a new approach for controlling apple maggot and other tephritid species, because this material is considered to be compatible with advanced ...

The physiological breakdown of citrus fruits variously known as storage spot, pitting, or pox has presented a perplexing problem to growers and shippers ever since the storage and transportation of these fruits was undertaken on an extensive scale. This breakdown manifests itself in various forms of blemishes of the rind, depending on such factors as the inherent condition of the fruit, the tem...

Variations in ̄avonoid and chlorogenic acid levels within fruit, within tree, between orchards, between cultivars and among mutants were characterised and quanti®ed in `Elstar' and `Jonagold' apples by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The sun-exposed skin of individual fruit had much higher cyanidin 3-galactoside (anthocyanin) and quercetin 3glycoside levels than...