Occurrence of multiple shoots bearing flowers arising from single axillary buds on kiwifruit canes treated with hydrogen cyanamide

Abstract

Abstract Dormant first‐order axillary buds on kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev) C.F. Liang et A.R. Ferguson) canes break in spring and normally produce a single shoot bearing flowers through the extension of the primary bud axis. Documented here is the occurrence of three shoots arising from a single axillary bud, with each shoot bearing flowers, after treatment with hydrogen cyanamide. Given that dormant first‐order buds contain second‐order axillary buds, the multiple shoots reported here are likely to be in part, the result of the extension of the second‐order axillary bud axes. This shows that the axillary meristems found within the second‐order buds also possess the inherent ability to produce flowers.