Abstract
Ficus carica L. is one of the ≅700 species of the Ficus genus in the Moraceae family (Flaishman et al., 2008; Datwyler & Weiblen, 2004). The cultivated fig, Ficus carica L. (Moraceae), is clearly of greatest importance as a source of human food in some areas of the world. The fig fruit has long been associated with horticulture in the Mediterranean region, which is well adapted to drought and high temperatures (Zohary & Spiegel-Roy, 1975). Cato, Pliny the Elder, and Columella described horticultural practices (for example, tillage and fertilization) and fig cultivars (African, Winter, Tiburtine, Pompeian, Herculanean, Saguntine). However, they did not specifically describe the breba or first crop (generally ripening in May–June) and the main crop (ripening in July–September). Information is scarce regarding the time of initiation and differentiation of flower buds, considering the limited research existing up to now. This chapter’s purpose is to describe better the morphology, type, and structure of the fig buds and the differentiation and formation processes that occur during the bud growth season. Inflorescences initiation and differentiation occur in the develo** buds of the young shoot throughout the growing season until early summer. Breba figs are produced from flower buds, which differentiate the year before fruit maturity. Main crop figs are produced from buds differentiated during the season in which the fruit matures. The mixed buds start to develop undifferentiated inflorescence primordia at the end of the winter (with increasing temperature), which will differentiate almost complete inflorescences within 2–3 months both for breba (for the successive season) and the main crop (for the current season). The most productive part of the shoot is the middle portion, while the buds on the basal and distal nodes of the shoot are the least productive.
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Ferrara, G., Mazzeo, A. (2023). Bud Structure and Evolution. In: Ramadan, M.F. (eds) Fig (Ficus carica): Production, Processing, and Properties. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16493-4_5
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