Abstract
We investigated the relationships of weight and soluble solid contents (SSC) of fruit and the bearing positions, time of flowering, and growing period of the fruit within the same ‘Benishimizu’ peach trees for three years (2007, 2008, and 2009). The fruit weight was high in the middle part of the main stem in 2007 and in the apical part of the main stem in 2008 and 2009. Weights of late-flowered fruit were significantly higher than those of early-flowered fruit in 2007, but there was no significant difference in the fruit weight among flowering dates in 2008 and 2009. As the fruit growing period from flowering to harvest increased, the fruit weight decreased in 2007 and 2008. On the other hand, SSC was higher in the apical part than in the middle and basal parts of the main stem in all the years. Also, in all the years late-flowered fruit showed a higher SSC compared to early-flowered fruit. The percentage of fruit with a high SSC (more than 15% Brix) was greater in fruit with a shorter growing period, while the fruit with a longer growing period had higher rate of low SSC (less than 10% Brix). Based on the above results, we concluded that the fruit weight is affected by the bearing positions of the canopy, and the SSC is affected by not only the bearing positions of the canopy, but also the time of flowering and the growing period of fruit.
