Ownrooted 'Maravilha' potted peach trees were investigated under field
and greenhouse conditions to determine the effect of the environment
on the development of fruits and apical shoots. Higher greenhouse temp
eratures soon after bloom hastened fruit growth rate and shortened the
fruit development period without influencing harvested fruit size. Fi
eld temperatures during the Stage I of fruit growth were likely to be
cooler than the optimum. Furthermore, Stage II of fruit growth was pro
longed under field conditions thus fruits grown in the greenhouse from
bloom onward reached harvest maturity 9 days earlier than those growi
ng in the field. Absolute and relative shoot growth was enhanced by hi
gher greenhouse temperatures.