Influence of flower type, position in the cluster and spur characteristics on fruit set and growth of apple cultivars

It’s great to be the King: Apple fruit development affected by the position in the cluster

“…The position of fruit in the cluster is not important in itself. When flower clusters are thinned to single buds at pink bud stage, king fruit dominance was not evident (Ferree et al, 2001). In hand-thinned single-fruited clusters, the retained fruit achieves the size and weight typically seen in king fruit irrespective of the position (Goffinet et al, 1996).…”

“…Other authors established that apple inflorescence is determinate and forms 5-6 flowers; most commonly five (Eccher et al, 2014). The number of flowers per cluster is also cultivar dependent (Ferree et al, 2001).…”

“…Many authors who investigated the process of apple abscission categorized only two fruitlet types: central/lateral fruitlets (Dal Cin et al, 2007;Ferree et al, 2001) or fruitlets differing in their size (Botton et al, 2011;Eccher et al, 2013;Ferrero et al, 2015). Studies confirmed that smaller fruitlets had higher abscission potential.…”

Flower Induction and Flower Bud Development in Apple and Sweet Cherry

“…Heat accumulation between full bloom and the onset of floral initiation however is not accounted for variations in onset among seasons (81). The favorable climatic conditions for the photosynthesis with a longer period after fruit harvesting, even in late ripening cultivars, in countries such as New Zealand, can lead to formation of more 'vigorous flowers' and this has a favorable effect on the productivity of cultivars (35).…”

“…The apical flower in the cluster dominates over the lateral flowers but this domination varies between the cultivars and can be modified by ecological conditions and by the characteristics of different years (35). The apical flowers set more fruit, compared to the lateral flowers, and in presence of lateral fruits, the apical fruit keeps its priority concerning the size until ripening (46).…”