Fruit-eating birds are the primary seed dispersers for many plant species in various habitats (Ridley 1930; van der PijI1969). Because seed dispersal is important for plants (Howe and Smallwood 1982), the criteria that birds use in choosing fruits should directly affect the reproductive success of plants that depend on avian seed dispersal. Any fruit trait that enhances the likelihood that an a...

We investigated crop load and water stress effects on diurnal stem extension growth of field-grown peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) trees. Neither the presence of fruit nor reduced irrigation significantly altered the timing of diurnal fluctuations in stem growth rate. Stems with subtending fruit had significantly reduced growth compared to stems with no subtending fruit. Crop load had no sig...