Research
Regulation of flowering in fruit trees
The juvenile period typically lasts several years in fruit trees. Pomelo, however, has an ability called precocious flowering, which allows the plant to bear terminal flowers a year after seed germination with exposure to cool temperatures in the autumn. Furthermore, some cultivars of several fruit tree species have the perpetual flowering habit, although most temperate fruit trees bloom only once in an annual growing season, an adaptation of the growth cycle to seasonal environmental changes. We are attempting to understand the regulatory mechanisms of flowering in fruit trees by focusing on these phenomena.
References
- Esumi, T., Y. Kitamura, C. Hagihara, H. Yamane, and R. Tao. 2010. Identification of a TFL1 ortholog in Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb et Zucc.). Scientia Hort. 125: 608-616.