(1) The ovule has a complex structure, with several substructures spatially organized.(2) Once the pollen has fertilized the egg cell contained within the ovule, the ovule develops into a seed, and the ovary of the enclosing carpel begins to enlarge and ripen, forming the fruit.(3) The number of pollen tubes and ovules in the ovaries of each of six dissected pistils from each cross is shown.(4) Relative to self-pollination, outcross pollination results in greater proportion of flowers setting fruit, and greater proportion of ovules yielding seeds per fruit.(5) However, any role of ethylene, produced due to damaging the ovular base, cannot be excluded.(6) We detected no advantage to multiple paternity in reducing either the number of unfertilized ovules or stillborn young.(7) Nevertheless, there is a consensus that the palisade layer, which develops from the outer epidermis of the outer ovular integument, is critical in determining the permeability property of a seed coat.(8) It is well known that most flowering plants produce more ovules than the number of seeds they mature.(9) These filial organs are enclosed by a maternal seed coat, derived from one or both ovular integuments.(10) Distal flowers are often smaller and produce fewer or smaller ovules , seeds and fruits, but they may have higher pollen production.(11) With advances in molecular biology, lines with fuzzless and fiberless seed phenotypes have become very important in determining differences in gene/protein regulation during development of ovular trichomes.
