Yield and exudate measurements
Phloem exudate was collected using the method described by Pérez-Alfocea
et al. (2000). The distal stem with the shoot apex and the two youngest
expanded leaves were excised and the basal 2-3 cm immediately immersed
in a 150 mL glass containing 30 mL of 20 mM EDTA (pH 6, adjusted with
LiOH to avoid interactions with cation measurements). Each container
with the plant material was placed in a plastic bag and hermetically
sealed. The exudate was obtained by incubating the plant material for 20
h in the dark at room temperature.
Total yield was calculated using all the fruits collected from each
plant during the harvest period. Fully ripe fruits were harvested weekly
for two months. The truss length and fruit weight were also recorded in
the 3rd truss. Fruit at green and mature stages were
harvested for hormonal analysis. Leaf, root and truss xylem sap was
obtained by applying a pneumatic pressure (between -0.6 and -0.7 MPa) to
excised organs. Sap was collected with a pipette, immediately frozen in
liquid nitrogen and stored at -80°C for hormonal analysis.