Physiological interventions in induction of parthenocarpy with fruits and vegetables: A Review

Abstract

Seedless fruits have gained importance in the present era of the Horticulture Industry. One of the scientific reasons behind that seedlessness is parthenocarpy i.e. production of fruits without pollination and fertilization. The processes of positive and negative signaling that occur after pollination and fertilization are fundamentally dependent on plant growth hormones. These hormones are necessary for the growth and development of seeds and fruit. Exogenous application of different concentrated plant growth regulators, particularly auxin, cytokinins, and gibberellins, or combinations of these, prior to floral induction can also result in seedless fruit. It has been documented in a number of fruit and vegetable crops, including cucumber, tomato, brinjal, apple, and pears. A tight control between these two growth hormones can be seen in the early phases of fruit development, where auxin application promotes gibberellin biosynthesis and gibberellin application increases auxin content. Synthetic cytokinins are applied to pre-anthesis ovaries to activate cell division, which leads to the production of parthenocarpic fruit.