Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Horticultural Research Station, Kandaghat, Solan 173 215
In apple, sorbitol is the primary product of photosynthesis and a major form of translocation of carbon. The 14C-sorbitol when smeared on a selected leaf had very little movement in initial intervals from the fed leaf. As the time advanced, its translocation increased and after 42 days, maximum 14C activity was found in fruits as compared to other parts of the shoot. In leaves, sorbitol was mainly converted into sucrose with little conversion into fructose and glucose. In stem portion, the same pattern was noticed. In fruits, sorbitol was readily converted into other sugars. Initially sorbitol was converted to sucrose, fructose and glucose but at the end of experiment, fructose appeared to be the main sugar followed by glucose.
