The roles of cytokinins and abscisic acid in the pericarp of litchi (Litchi chinensisSonn.) in determining fruit size

SummaryVariations in the concentrations of cytokinins (CTKs) and abscisic acid (ABA) were studied in the pericarp of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) fruit using the large-fruited cv. ‘Erdanli’ (55.3 g per fruit) and the small-fruited cv. ‘Huaizhi’ (20.9 g per fruit), as well as large fruit (32.4 g) from early blooms and small (20.8 g) fruit from late blooms on the same inflorescences of cv. ‘Feizixiao’ from the same commercial orchard in Guangdong, China in 2000. ‘Erdanli’ had higher concentrations of CTKs than cv. ‘Huaizhi’ on three out of six sampling dates during fruit development, and lower concentrations of abscisic acid (ABA) from 40 d after anthesis. In cv. ‘Feizixiao’, fruit from early blooms had higher concentration of CTKs than fruit from late blooms at all sampling dates, and lower concentrations of ABA on three out of five sampling dates. Therefore, the former had a higher CTK:ABA ratio. These data suggest that a high CTK:ABA ratio favours fruit growth in litchi.