We are interested in understanding how the presence of developing fruit in perennial fruit trees influences current and future developmental events in nearby tissues. Our focus is on those events that effect yield quantity and quality. Here I will present studies in Apples, Olives and Passionfruit that address this issue. Developmental processes discussed will be flower induction, fertilization and fruitlet abscission. I will present our recent studies on a phenomenon known as 'Alternate/ Biennial Bearing'.  Finally, I will discuss the effect of likely warmer winters on Alternate Bearing in Olives.

Biography
​​​​​​​Alon Samach is a molecular biologist studying developmental processes in Plants, His main current interests are the transition to flowering and fruitlet abscission in fruit trees, as well as breeding for new Passionfruit cultivars. His lab focuses on using experimental approaches to better understand processes