Relationship between cortical cell diameter, population and the harvest size of apple

Abstract

The average diameter of the cortical cells of 'Fuji' apple did not significantly differ for fruits ranging in weight from 172 to 390 g. This indicates that the fruit size of this cultivar is mainly determined by the number of cells per fruit. But the average cell diameter fluctuated from season to season indicating that the difference in fruit size depends on cell size and cell population. For 'American Summer Pearmain'. 'Tsugaru' and 'Senshu' which mature early, the larger fruit tended to have larger cell diameters. In 'Jonagold', which matures in late October, the cell diameter remained nearly constant in fruits weighing between 215 and 387 g. Thus, the difference in the sizes of 'Jonagold' fruit is a function of cell number rather than cell diameter, similar to that of 'Fuji'.