WHY DO DETACHED LITCHI FRUIT SENESCE MORE RAPIDLY?

Litchi fruit detached from the tree did not ripen but senesced with dramatic increase of membrane leakage.
Girdling panicle stalks did not accelerate fruit senescence.
Abscisic acid (ABA) exported from the cut surface of panicle stalks remaining on the tree was largely transported via phloem, while zeatin was transported via xylem.
Transfusion of water to picked fruit especially with zeatin (10mmol/l) slowed senescence, but this effect faded after four days.

I International Symposium on Litchi and Longan

X.M. Huang, H.B. Huang, J.G. Li, H.C. Wang, F.F. Gao

Abscisic acid, cytokinin, fruit-tree relation, girdling, Litchi chinensis Sonn., fruit maturation, membrane leakage, post-harvest physiology, ripening, water, zeatin

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2001.558.30