Relationships between Fruit Growth Dynamics and Leaf Physiological and Fruit Color Characteristics in Jujube

Year 2026, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 880 - 886, 15.03.2026

Tuba Bak

https://doi.org/10.34248/bsengineering.1851037

https://izlik.org/JA63GG23EM

Abstract

This study investigated fruit growth dynamics in two different sizes of jujube and their relationships with leaf traits physiological and color characteristics. Fruit and leaf measurements were taken in five different periods between July and September. The large-fruited genotype showed a significant advantage in fruit size compared to the small-fruited type. Chlorophyll content and leaf area were consistently higher in the large-fruited genotype and increased throughout development. Fruit peel color a* values in large-fruited jujube gradually increased, showing a progressive transition from green to red, while a more abrupt reddening was observed in small-fruited jujubes. Correlation analysis identified strong positive relationships between fruit weight, fruit diameter, fruit length, chlorophyll content, leaf area, and fruit peel a* values, defining them as key indicators for fruit size and ripening.

Keywords

Jujube , Growth curve , Fruit weight , SPAD

Ethical Statement

Ethics committee approval was not required for this study because of there was no study on animals or humans.

References

• Bak, T. (2023). Hünnap ve Beyağaç tarımındaki önemi. Beyağaç 1. Tarım Sempozyumu Bildiriler Kitabı (Proceedings Book), 10-12 Ağustos 2023 Denizli/TÜRKİYE (ss. 78-86).
• Kamiloglu, O., Ercisli, S., Senguel, M., Toplu, C., & Serçe, S. (2009). Total phenolics and antioxidant activity of jujube (Zizyphus jujube Mill.) genotypes selected from Turkey. African Journal of Biotechnology, 8(2), 303–307.
• Karadeniz, T. (2004). Şifalı meyveler (Meyvelerle beslenme ve tedavi şekilleri). Burcan Ofset Matbaacılık Sanayii/Ordu. ISBN 975288867-4s208.
• Khadivi, A. (2023). Morphological characterization and interspecific variation among five species of Ziziphus genus to select superiors in Iran. BMC Plant Biology, 23, Article 550. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-023-04566-4
• Krishna, H., Sharma, B. D., Bhargava, R., & Singh, R. S. (2016). Stylar end browning: A physiological disorder of Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana) fruits. The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 86(12), 1621–1624. https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v86i12.65646
• Liu, P., Liu, M. J., Zhao, Z. H., Liu, X. Y., Wang, J. R., & Yan, C. (2009). Investigation on the characteristics of fruiting and seed development in Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.). Acta Horticulturae, 840, 209–214. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2009.840.26
• Lu, H., Lou, H., Zheng, H., Hu, Y., & Li, Y. (2012). Nondestructive evaluation of quality changes and the optimum time for harvesting during jujube (Zizyphus jujuba Mill. cv. Changhong) fruits development. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 5, 2586–2595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-011-0640-5
• Ma, Y., Zhang, D., Wang, Z., Song, L., & Cao, B. (2021). Fruit morphology measurements of jujube cultivar ‘Lingwu Changzao’ (Ziziphus jujuba Mill. cv. Lingwuchangzao) during fruit development. Horticulturae, 7(2), 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7020026
• Pehluvan, M., Doğru, B., & Çatak, E. (2021). Meyve gelişimi döneminde kayısıda (Prunus armeniaca L.) bazı fiziksel ve kimyasal değişimler. Journal of Agriculture, 4(1), 10–15. https://doi.org/10.46876/ja.941631
• Pei, M. S., Cao, S. H., Wu, L., Wang, G. M., Xie, Z. H., Gu, C., & Zhang, S. L. (2020). Comparative transcriptome analyses of fruit development among pears, peaches, and strawberries provide new insights into single sigmoid patterns. BMC Plant Biology, 20, Article 108. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-020-2317-6
• Rashwan, A. K., Karim, N., Shishir, M. R. I., Bao, T., Lu, Y., & Chen, W. (2020). Jujube fruit: A potential nutritious fruit for the development of functional food products. Journal of Functional Foods, 75, 104205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2020.104205
• Salinas, I., Hueso, J. J., & Cuevas, J. (2019). Fruit growth model, thermal requirements and fruit size determinants in papaya cultivars grown under subtropical conditions. Scientia Horticulturae, 246, 1022–1027. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2018.11.056
• Sapkota, S., Sapkota, S., Wang, S., & Liu, Z. (2020). Phenological study of Chinese jujube trees using Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt and CHemische Industrie (BBCH) scale. Journal of Horticultural Science and Research, 3(1), 68–73.
• Shahrajabian, M. H., Sun, W., & Cheng, Q. (2020). Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) – a promising fruit from Traditional Chinese Medicine. Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis Studia Naturae, 5, 194–219. https://doi.org/10.24917/25438832.5.13
• Shahzad, U., Jaskani, M.J., Awan, F.S., Shahjahan, M., Naqvi, S.A., & Wasaya, A. (2018). Genetic divergence of Moringa oleifera, economically important, yet an endangered species from Pakistan. Int. J. Agric. Biol., 20: 1497‒1504
• Sulusoglu, M., Cavusoglu, A., Dede, N., & Unver, H. (2014). Morphological, phonological and nutritional traits of jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.). 49th Croatian and 9th International Symposium on Agriculture, Proceedings, 727–731.
• Șumălan, R. L., Copolovici, D. M., Crișan, M., Stănică, F., Șumălan, R. M., Lupitu, A., Vicas, S. I., Mot, S., Copolovici, L., & Ciulca, S. (2025). Assessment of fruit traits and antioxidant capacity in wild and cultivated genotypes of Ziziphus sp. Plants, 14(1), 134. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14010134
• TSMS. (2025). Turkish State Meteorological Service. https://www.mgm.gov.tr/eng/forecast-cities.aspx
• TÜİK. (2024). Bitkisel üretim istatistikleri. Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu. https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/medas/?kn=95&locale=tr (Erişim tarihi: 12 Aralık 2025).