2019 Volume 18 Issue 1 Pages 39-44
To characterize factors determining the varietal differences in the fruit size of Japanese plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.), we investigated the relationships among fruit weight, flesh thickness, cell numbers, and radial cell lengths of flesh at the ripening time in 6 cultivars for 2 years. The correlation coefficient between the fruit weight and flesh thickness was higher than 0.9, and the cultivar with large fruits had thicker flesh. There was a varietal difference in cell numbers of flesh, and the cultivar with large fruits had more cells. On the other hand, differences in radial cell lengths of flesh among the cultivars were not clear. In the investigation of correlation coefficients among measurement items, although a correlation was noted between the thickness and radial cell lengths in flesh, the correlation coefficient was low, at about 0.3 to 0.5. Conversely, the correlation coefficient between the thickness and cell numbers in flesh was high, over 0.9. The results revealed that the differences in fruit size among Japanese plum cultivars were markedly influenced by the cell number rather than radial cell length.
