Fruit set

Fruit set

The term Fruit set or allegation, in botany, means the first moment of fruiting, when the anthesis is finished, the new fruit begins to form to start ripening.
The term allegation indicates both the time period and the phenomenon.
Fruit set is one of the most important moments in the development of the future harvest.
In agricultural production, fruit set also represents the relationship between the number of fruits that develop from fertilized flowers and that of the flowers totally present on the plant at the beginning of anthesis (flowering).
High blooms do not necessarily correspond to a large number of fruits, and this can be linked to various factors.

The fruit can thus be regarded as a good index of efficiency of the double pollination process – fertilization. It consists in successful fertilization, with the consequent enlargement of the ovary and the formation of seeds that stimulate the growth of the fruit.
During the fruit set phase, the plant regulates, with the droplet, the number of flowers that will bear fruit.
The drop phase, which determines the index of allegation, can be calculated in three periods: the initial phase, that is, after about 10 days from flowering; the intermediate one after the end of the physiological drop and the final one at the harvest. The phase following the ripening of the fruit is senescence.