Variation of Apricot Quality - Influence of Fruit Location Within the Tree

Crop load and harvest maturity effects on consumer preferences for apricots

“…Orchard management practices have been shown to alter SSC, but have not been directly shown to affect consumer liking. Apricots accumulated more sugar when grown on trees that had lighter crop loads and also when fruit were located in high light positions within the tree …”

“…Apricots accumulated more sugar when grown on trees that had lighter crop loads 17,18 and also when fruit were located in high light positions within the tree. 19 There have been no attempts to consider the effect of the interaction between sugar content and firmness on consumer acceptance of apricots, nor any attempt to change consumer acceptance through manipulation of tree management. This trial was designed to establish the effects of crop load and stage of maturity when picked, on fruit quality in apricot and subsequent consumer liking.…”

Sugar Metabolism in Stone Fruit: Source-Sink Relationships and Environmental and Agronomical Effects

“…Besides the number of fruits present on the tree and the fruit:shoot balance, also the relative position on the canopy of source and sink organs may influence the movement of resources (Génard et al, 1998b). In apricot, the higher SSC content of fruit was related both to light exposure and the type of bearing structure (Dichio et al, 1999;Lichou et al, 1999;Stanley et al, 2014). Longer shoots show lower fruit set as compared with spurs and maybe as a consequence, in the latter, of higher starch content in ovaries and ovules (Julian et al, 2010), earlier flower initiation during previous season (Sakayarote et al, 2005), and lower chilling requirement (Austin et al, 1992).…”