Histochemical examination of apple seeds (cv. Golden Delicious) from persisting and abscising fruit were conducted 2 days after treatment (NAA, 30 ppm; Sevin, 2 lb./100 gal water). Seeds and embryos of NAA-treated potential drop fruit were appreciably smaller than those associated with other treatments. There was no evidence of reduced levels of nucleic acids, proteins, or starch in embryo or endosperm when compared with corresponding tissue from untreated persistent fruit. The extent of starch deposition in maternal tissue was related to seed size and was the most consistent correlative of impending seed abortion.
Comparisons of seed tissues from persistent and potential drop apple fruit (‘Golden Delicious’) 3 weeks after full bloom suggested that fruit commitment to abscise (determined by a reduced rate of fruit enlargement between 16 and 21 days after full bloom) preceded ultrastructural evidence of degenerative or functional changes in embryo or endosperm tissue. The results do not support the concept of ‘embryo abortion’ as a causal mechanism in natural fruit abscission during post-bloom.
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