Fruit volumetric growth is primarily the result of water
accumulation, and hence the maintenance of fruit growth re
quires coordination between water and solute transport, both
through the vascular tissue and at the level of individual
cells. One hypothesized coordinating principle is that for
fruit growth to occur there must be a favourable gradient in
total water potential between the fruit and the rest of the
plant. This gradient is generated both by transpiration and
by an osmotic gradient