Therefore, they depend on sugars
translocated from leaves. The force attracting translocation
sugars in fruit is called the sink strength. If the sink
strength of the fruit is weak, the fruit can not grow
sufficiently: growth is retarded or sometimes the fruit
shrinks because of sugar deprivation. This review
discusses the physiological conditions influencing sink
strength during the various steps between photoassimilate
synthesis in leaves and its accumulation in fruit
(Fig. 1).