Sorbitol in Tracheal Sap of Apple as Related to Temperature

The influence of dormant-season temperatures on levels of sorbitol was determined in an effort to provide further information on the possible role of sorbitol in dormancy of apple tress (Malus sylvestris Mill.). Two-year-old shoots were collected throughout the dormant season; sorbitol and sugars were determined in tracheal sap extracted under vacuum and in ground dried wood extracted in a soxhlet apparatus. Sorbitol and sugar trimethylsilyl derivatives were detected by gas chromatography. Levels of sorbitol in the sap generally increased during subfreezing temperatures and decreased during warm periods throughout the dormant season. Early peak increases in sap sorbitol appeared to coincide with the beginning of leaf senescence. Postharvest levels of reducing sugars, sorbitol, and particularly sucrose in the wood, increased as the temperature decreased during the dormant season, and the sugar levels decreased with warming temperatures in the spring. Our data indicate that sorbitol and sucrose are important reserves of storage carbohydrates in resting apple trees.