‘Jonagold’ and ‘Szampion’ are winter apple cultivars, whose fruits are suitable for long-term storage. However, fruits of these cultivars differ markedly in the type of the surface and the rate and volume of water transpiration, which is manifested in fruit quality after storage and the length of apple shelf life. A majority of factors responsible for fruit quality and storability are genetically conditioned traits that are mainly developed before fruits reach harvest maturity or still develop during the storage period. The micromorphology, anatomy, and ultrastructure of 21-day-old fruit buds of the ‘Jonagold’ and ‘Szampion’ were examined using light microscopy as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The analyses were particularly focused on the traits that determine fruit firmness and storability, which contribute to long-term storage capacity. It was found that the fruit buds in both cultivars differed significantly in the number of trichome scars and stomata on the fruit surface, the thickness of the hypodermis layer and the hypodermis cell walls, and in the content of phenolic compound deposits. At the fruit bud stage, the following features related to increased or decreased fruit firmness and storability were observed: platelet crystalline wax, cuticle microcracks, stomata and trichome scars, and presence of phenolic compounds.

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