CARBON FLUXES IN MATURE PEACH LEAVES

The turnover and transport of sugars are described in peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch), a species exporting both sucrose and sorbitol. Apparent export rate was slower in peach leaves than in leaves of herbaceous species. Sorbitol was the major soluble end product of photosynthesis and the major soluble carbohydrate in the leaf (higher than sucrose). Carbon fluxes were described using C-14 labeling, radioactivity loss curves, and compartmental analysis during the second half of the photoperiod when chemical steady state was reached for soluble carbohydrates. The measured specific radioactivity of sucrose was typical of a primary product. The delayed decrease in specific radioactivity of sorbitol indicated that part of it was secondarily synthesized. Sucrose is proposed to be the carbon source for the delayed synthesis of sorbitol in the light. The sorbitol to sucrose ratio was higher in the petiole than in the leaf tissues. In phloem sap, obtained using stylectomy of aphids and collected from the main stem between source leaves and apex, this ratio was lower than in the petiole, suggesting a preferential sorbitol demand by sinks.