RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLYAMINES AND OVULE DEVELOPMENT IN APRICOT OVARIES AT DIFFERENT BLOOM STAGES

Variation in the developmental stage of apricot ovules has been observed and the immaturity of the ovules is frequent in many cultivars at anthesis. The possible role of polyamines, influencing the development of the ovary, is not known. In this work, free polyamine content in the ovaries of two apricot cultivars, ‘S405-17’ and ‘Bergeron’, collected at three different stages during floral development, has been analysed. The relationship between polyamine profiles, the differences in ovule development between the two apricot cultivars and different fructification percentages were also determined. Higher levels of Put, Spd and Spm were found in cultivar ‘S405-17’ for all the phenological stages. Cultivar ‘S405-17’ had more developed ovules and higher fructification percentages than ‘Bergeron’. The results suggest that high polyamine levels may be related to the presence of mature ovules after anthesis and the higher fruit set percentages found in cultivar ‘S405-17’.