Fruit Growth and Food Transport in Cucurbits

Recently the writers reported that phloem exudation from cucurbits can no longer be considered a manifestation of normal food movement by mass flow.This does not mean that the growth of cucurbit fruits will not serve as an index of normal food movements, for only upon cutting the plant are these processes disturbed.The cultivated cucurbits are convenient to work with and grow very rapidly, so that the rates noted should represent the upper limits occurring in plants.