Parthenocarpy

As already established, normal post-fertilization development turns the ovary into a fruit and the ovule into a seed; in a number of cases, however, a fruit-like structure develops from the ovary without any act of fertilization taking place at all, and such fruits are called parthenocarpic fruits. They invariably lack true seeds, and many economically important fruits - banana, grapes and papaya among them - are deliberately bred or induced to be seedless in exactly this way. Nitsch (1963) classified parthenocarpy into three types based on its cause: genetic parthenocarpy, which arises from hybridization or mutation (Citrus, Cucurbita); environmental parthenocarpy, induced by environmental conditions such as frost, fog, or unusually low or high temperature - for example, 3 to 19 hours of low temperature is enough to induce parthenocarpy in Pear; and chemically induced parthenocarpy, triggered by applying growth-promoting substances such as auxins and gibberellins. Parthenocarpy has real horticultural and commercial significance: seedless fruits are valued in horticulture and command real commercial importance, they are especially useful for processed prod …