The Relation of Achene Number to Berry Weight in Strawberry Fruit

Abstract

SummaryMeasurements were made of total achene numbers, berry fresh weight and the number of achenes per cm2 on ripe berries of the cultivars Redgauntlet and Cambridge Vigour grown in sand culture in a cold glasshouse. Berry size was shown to depend on two factors, the number of gynoecia (achenes) initiated on the flower and the degree of development of the receptacle tissue associated with each achene. For any value of achene spacing there was a linear relationship between total achene number and berry weight, indicating that the receptacle develops as a sheet of tissue rather than as a solid body.It is suggested that there is a limit to the berry weight attainable for any given number of achenes, and therefore that the potential maximum size of each berry is determined during development of the flower primordium. Measurements of the number of achenes per cm2 provide a means of estimating how far below maximum the actual crop weight falls and makes possible the realization of the concept of a calculated shortfall in yield.