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SummaryA stereological method was developed to analyze the anatomical features of fresh ‘Empire’ apple fruit sectors cut in the transverse equatorial plane. Fruits were from unthinned trees or trees hand-thinned to one fruit per cluster at –7, 0, 10, 20 or 40 d after full bloom. At final harvest (140 DAFB), fruits representing the size range within each treatment were analyzed for the effects of thinning on fruit size, weight and cortex anatomy, namely, parenchyma cell size, cell number and the proportion of cortex volume occupied by intercellular space (IS). A dissecting stereobinocular microscope fitted with a ten-by-ten reticule was used to count cells and proportion of IS in three fields in each of two cortex sectors per fruit. Cell volume in each field was derived by knowing only the grid area, a point-count for proportion of IS and a count of cell numbers within the grid. Fruit size and weight decreased as thinning was prolonged and unthinned trees had the smallest fruit. Within a thinning treatment...

SummaryThe expolinear growth model of Goudriaan and Monteith (1990) is proposed as a new model for the inherent growth pattern of fruit of apple (Malus domestica Borkh.), defined as growth pattern under apparently non–limiting conditions This function has three parameters: maximum relative growth rate, maximum absolute growth rate, and “lost time” (x intercept of the linear growth phase). Apple fruit growth (weight basis) at very low crop loads and apparently optimum environmental conditions, displays an early positive curvilinear growth followed by linear growth to harvest, and is described well by the expolinear function. The model also fits growth patterns of ‘Empire’ and ‘Golden Delicious’ apple fruit differing in the rate of growth in the exponential phase due to differences in the crop load. Estimates of cortical cell numbers in ‘Empire’ fruit from related studies suggest that during the linear phase in mid–season, different growth rates among crop load treatments were apparently controlled by diffe...

Light microscopic examination of the structure of seed testa of snap and semihard bean seeds with 6% and 12% moisture contents in paraffin sections was unsuccessful because of poor paraffin infiltration and subsequent separation of subjacent and palisade cell layers. We devised an alternative method using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the embedding material. Specimens were killed and fixed in the usual manner. They were then run up through a graded series (25, 50, 75, 100%) of PEG 1000 to PEG 1450, and finally embedded in a mixture of PEG 1450 and 4000 (19:1 by weight). Transverse and longitudinal sections retained excellent morphological detail and were suitable for histological study. Sections temporarily stained with 0.025% thionin allowed good quality photomicrographs.