Endogenous plant growth substances content in young fruits of seeded and seedless Clementine mandarin as related to fruit set and development

The content of plant growth substances in the fruits of seedless (‘Fino’) and seeded (‘Monreal’) Clementine mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) during the early stages of development was investigated. Auxin-like substances were determined with the oat mesocotyl bioassay, gibberellin-like substances with the α-amylase bioassay, and abscisic acid (ABA) by gas chromatography—electron capture detector. Methanolic extracts of fruits of seedless Clementine had higher content of auxin-like compounds in the acidic and butanolic fractions than the seeded Clementine extracts. In particular, a compound with R_f 0–0.25 in the chromatograms may be involved in the parthenocarpic fruit set development of ‘Fino’ Clementine ovaries. Diffusable gibberellin-like compounds (R_f 0.8–1.0), probably produced in the developing seeds, were obtained from seeded Clementine fruits after the time of anthesis. The content of ABA in the fruits was always low in ‘Monreal’ Clementine, whereas in fruits of ‘Fino’ Clementine and of ‘Monreal’ without seeds it increased dramatically after anthesis. It is suggested that the control of fruit set and development in Clementine mandarin is carried out through an equilibrium between auxin-like substances (‘Fino’) or gibberellin-like substances (‘Monreal’) and ABA.