Change of Fruit Surface Characteristics and Its Relationship with Water Absorption and Fruit Cracking in Ziziphus jujuba ‘Huping’

【Objective】 Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) fruit is easy to crack at ripening stage during rainy season, which brings huge economic loss to the production. This study aimed to clarify the main ways of water absorption leading to jujube fruit cracking, and provide a basis for further exploring the mechanism of fruit cracking and its prevention and control. 【Method】 The experiment was carried out from 2013 to 2015. Fruits of Z. jujuba ‘Huping’ with higher cracking susceptibility were used as test materials. The water absorption distribution of different parts of the jujube fruit was observed with dye tracer and stereoscope. The possible ways of water absorption of jujube fruits were determined, and the differences of water absorption per unit time in different parts of jujube fruits were determined by sealing the different parts of the fruit with wax and then incubating them in water. The surface structure characteristics of jujube fruit were observed with stereoscope and scanning electron microscope, and the