FRUITING HABITS 



213 



larger leaf. On weaker growths, only single-fruit buds or leaf 

 buds may form, and this condition often occurs near the ends 

 of shoots of low vigor. 



Apricots usually produce more fruit on so-called "spurs'^ 

 than do peaches. Each fruit bud on the peach and apricot 

 generally cpens into a single flower. 



Plum, The plum produces fruit buds in a lateral position 

 on shoots and on fruit spurs. The European or Domestica, and 

 Insititia plums represented by such varieties as Italian prune 

 and Shropshire Damson, respectively, usually bear most of 

 their fruit on spurs. In general, the fruit buds are borne 

 laterally about the spur, and a leaf bud in the axil of a single 

 leaf is produced approximately at the spur terminal. As a 

 result, plum spurs generally grow straighter than spurs of 

 the apple. Some fruit is also borne laterally on the one-year 

 shoots as with the peach, but this is more common with the 

 Japanese plums. 



With the Japanese varieties such as Abundance and Bur- 

 bank, fruit buds are borne laterally on both one-year shoots 

 and on spurs. The tips of both shoots and spurs are generally 

 terminated with a leaf bud. In contrast to the Domestica and 

 Insititia plums, these Japanese plums usually bear heavily 

 on the one-year shoots, like the peach. The fruit buds borne 

 on the shoots may be single or associated with a leaf bud, or 

 sometimes with a leaf bud and another fruit bud as in the 

 peach. Occasionally the fruit buds occur in clusters. Fruit 

 buds on the spurs occur either singly in the axils of the leaves 

 or often in lateral clusters similar to the cherry. Each fruit 

 bud generally produces irom one to three flowers. 



Cherry, The cherry produces lateral fruit buds on one- 

 year shoots and on spurs. Leaf buds terminate the shoots and 

 nearly always the spurs. As a result, growth of the spurs is 

 generally continued each year from their terminals, thus re- 

 sulting in relatively straight spurs. With sweet cherries much 

 of the crop is borne on spurs, although some fruit is produced 



