DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES OF THE APPLE FRUIT IN THE VARIETIES McINTOSH RED AND WAGENER: II. AN ANALYSIS OF DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Growth in the various tissues of the fruit of a McIntosh Red and a Wagener tree, both self-pollinated, is compared. For several days succeeding pollination no increase in fruit size is apparent. Fertilization is followed by general cell division and cell enlargement. The period of cell division varies with the tissue and with the variety. Final cell size is reached first by the cells of those tissues near the centre of the apple. Impressed upon the fundamental pattern of growth is the localized activity of the primary vascular bundles, the cambia of which add cells to the ground tissue. Angulation in the Wagener is accentuated by this activity. With the exception of cells of the epidermis, final cell size is approximately equal in comparable regions of the two varieties. Differences in regional extent are due to differences in numbers of cells in that region.