Home »
Gardening Information »
Garden Botany
The Fruit
Fruits are the vehicles that disseminate (disperse) seeds away from the
parent plant. Once a seed is released from its fruit and conditions are
favorable for its germination, it can grow into a mature plant that produces
its own flowers. It is important to remember that all the stages of this cycle
(pollination, fertilization, seed and fruit production) take place in flowers.
For more on fruits, see Plant Structures.
Parthenocarpic Fruits
Fruits that develop from ovaries with unfertilized eggs are said to be
parthenocarpic. Such fruits, which are seedless, are found in navel oranges,
bananas, and certain varieties of figs and grapes.
Not all seedless fruits are parthenocarpic. In Thompson seedless grapes, for
example, fertilization does occur, but the ovules fail to develop with the
fruit. Parthenocarpy can be induced artificially by applying dilute hormone
sprays to flowers; seedless tomatoes are often produced in this way. Seedless
watermelons are produced by crossing varieties with different chromosome
numbers. The hybrid that results from such a cross produces fruit, but the
chromosomes cannot pair properly during meiosis, and so fertilization and seed
formation do not occur.
