Understanding the shoot sink.

Abstract To more fully understand how all the major organs of a tree interact in the semi-autonomous scheme of assimilate distribution and tree functioning, it is important to understand their development and growth behavior. This chapter presents a general description of the development and growth characteristics of the major organs (shoot and leaf) of fruit trees, including shoot structure, morphology and orientation; diurnal patterns of shoot growth; seasonal growth patterns of shoot growth and dormancy; as well as tree aging.