Seed Number and an Asymmetry Index of `McIntosh' Apples

Abstract

In `McIntosh' apples ( Malus domestica Borkh.), the number of well-formed seeds and the number of fertilized ovules (well-formed plus aborted seeds) were correlated to yield an index of asymmetry for individual fruit. In spite of different flowering and pollination conditions in 1990 and 1991, the index of asymmetry decreased curvilinearly with increases in the number of well-formed seeds and of fertilized ovules in both years.