Abstract: Abscisic acid (ABA) has been considered as a trigger in grape fruit ripening.
Potted‘Cabernet2Franc’grapevines (Vitis vinifera L. ) were used in the experiment to determine the sources of ABA in grape berry. The results showed that ABA synthesized in leaves could be rapidly and efficiently transported into a grape berry , and constituted an important source of ABA in the fruit . Although the ABA synthesized in roots , especially induced by water stress , could be transported into the fruit , it did not contribute much to the ABA content in grape berry. ABA biosynthesized in seeds seemed unlikely to be an important source of ABA in the flesh of grape berry. ABA was efficiently biosynthesized and catabolised independently by a grape berry , which could mediate ABA concentration in the fruit tissues through their ABA metabolic system in favor of the berry development .

Key words: Grape, Berry, Development, Abscisic acid