Figure 1.

A, The apple corymb with the central flower at bloom, whose anticipation with respect to the lateral flowers is clearly visible. B, Apple cluster with a clear hierarchy, as indicated by progressive numbers (C, central fruitlet; L1, small lateral fruitlets; L2, medium lateral fruitlets; L3, big lateral fruitlets). C, Schematic representation of the different abscission potentials ascribed to fruitlets within either intact or partial inflorescence (black, strongly persisting; white, strongly abscising) of control (CTRL; top panels) or BA-treated (+BA; bottom panels) trees. Sample fruitlets were labeled according to their size, position within the cluster, and eventual treatment (L, lateral; C, central; B, treated with BA; 1, small size; 2, medium size; 3, big size).