FRUITING PHENOLOGY AND FRUIT SET OF CAROB, CERATONIA SILIQUA L. (CESALPINACEAE)

Abstract

The fruiting phenology of two female and two hermaphroditic carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) cultivars was studied in NE Spain. After flower pollination (September–November), fruit growth followed a sigmoidal curve, with an initial period of slow growth (December–March), a period of linear growth (April–June), and a final period of slow growth and maturation (June–Au–gust). Shedding of flowers and young fruits was high in October–December, and slowed down in January–February. Then, fruit drop again increased until May, and from June to August fruit shedding was almost nil. Fruit initiation was 12.6–35.0%, and fruit shedding was high (79.2–90.2% of the fruits initiated dropped before maturity). In the two female cultivars, larger inflorescences had higher rates of fruit initiation, fruit set, and seed set per flower than smaller inflorescences.