Abstract
Shoot elongation and axillary bud development in relation to flower initiation were investigated in Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb. cv. Hiratanenashi). Winter buds contained primordia of all the leaves that subsequently expanded during shoot elongation. At the end of the period of shoot elogation, the terminal tip of the shoot stopped growing and aborted. The number of leaf primordia within an axillary bud increased immediately after shoot tip abortion, and was affected by thickening growth of the shoot. In early July, the production of new leaf primordia gradually decreased and flower initiation began.
The occurrence of flower initiation and its probability appeared to be related to vegetative development and the decline in activity of apical meristems in the axillary buds.
