Rékiatou HAMADOU1, Seyni BOUREIMA2, Abdoul Aziz SAIDOU3, and Sitou LAWALI4
1 Faculté d’Agronomie et des Sciences de l’Environnement, Université Dan Dicko Dankoulodo de Maradi, BP 465 Maradi, Niger
2 Faculté d’Agronomie et des Sciences de l’Environnement, Université Dan Dicko Dankoulodo de Maradi, BP 465 Maradi, Niger
3 Imaan Research Center, Niamey, Niger
4 Faculté d’Agronomie et des Sciences de l’Environnement, Université Dan Dicko Dankoulodo de Maradi, BP 465 Maradi, Niger
Original language: English
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Abstract
Fruit dehiscence is a complex process that leads to seed dispersal and affects the completion of the reproduction cycle of many plant species. This process has a negative impact on crop yields at harvest, regardless of the harvesting method used, and when dehiscence is complete, mechanized harvesting becomes almost impossible. Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity certainly play a crucial role, but structural factors and fruit anatomy also contribute significantly. The aim of this review was to summarize fruit dehiscence in general, including its causes, mechanisms, and genetic determinism. The intrinsic causes inherent in the fruit itself, which determine the type of dehiscence, and tissue desiccation as an extrinsic cause were reviewed. This literature review also provided an understanding that fruit dehiscence, its mechanisms, and its development are determined within the fruit and regulated by specific genes in the pericarp and the dehiscence zone.
Author Keywords: shattering, genetic, determinism, crop improvement.