Delayed maturation of the stigma may interfere limiting the EPP as described in pear (Herrero, 1983). But most frequently it is early degeneration of the stigma ,that limits the EPP. This situation has been reported in `Napoleon' sweet cherry(Guerrero-Prieto et al., 1985), `Hayward' kiwi (GonzaÂlez et al., 1995b) and several apricot cultivars (Egea et al., 1991).