Etude des modes de ramification sympodiale chez Lycopersicum esculentum et L. pimpinellifolium
In Lycopersicum esculentum Mill, and L. pimpinellifolium Dun. ramification modes of plants with determinate and indeterminate habits are studied by macroscopic observation (apex evolution, phyllotaxis, and leaf number of the different branches of a mature plant) and also by analyzing mutated sectors after seed treatment. While the first inflorescence, a cyme, originates from the greater part of the prefloral apex, the top of which bears the first flower, second-order axes come up at the axils of the last two leaves. In all the varieties, the axillary bud of the second-last leaf produces a sympodial lateral ramification. On the other hand, that of the last leaf, which becomes visible on the side of the prefloral apex, as anticipated, immediately bears a second inflorescence in varieties with determinate habit, but makes up the second-order axis of the main sympodium in varieties with indeterminate habit. The characteristics of these two bud patterns are compared.