The uptake of water by apple trees (Malus × domestica‘Golden Delicious’) was measured in a pot experiment and was found to be much greater in apple trees carrying many fruits than in comparable specimens without fruits. The main reason seemed to be differences in the transpiration rates of the leaves. This was corroborated by microscopic investigations which showed a higher degree of stomatal opening in the fruiting trees. In some cases minor reductions in water uptake per tree were caused by reducing the supplies of potassium and nitrogen.
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P. Hansen (1971) studied this question.
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