Editing Parthenocarpy (section)

{{Short description|Production of seedless fruit without fertilisation}}
[[File:Watermelon seedless.jpg|right|thumb|Seedless watermelon]]
In [[botany]] and [[horticulture]], '''parthenocarpy''' is the natural or artificially induced [[Horticulture industry|production]] of [[fruit]] without [[fertilisation]] of [[ovule]]s, which makes the fruit seedless. The phenomenon has been observed since ancient times<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gustafson |first=Felix G. |date=1942-11-01 |title=Parthenocarpy: Natural and artificial |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02881046 |journal=The Botanical Review |language=en |volume=8 |issue=9 |pages=599–654 |doi=10.1007/BF02881046 |bibcode=1942BotRv...8..599G |s2cid=26990263 |issn=1874-9372|url-access=subscription }}</ref> but was first scientifically described by German botanist [[Fritz Noll]] in 1902.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Noll |first=F. |date=1902 |title=Fruchtbildung ohne vorausgegangene Bestaubung (Parthenokarpie) bei der Gurke |journal=Gesellschaft für Natur- und Heilkunde zu Bonn |volume=1 |pages=149–162}}</ref>

[[Stenospermocarpy]] may also produce apparently [[seedless fruit]], but the seeds are actually aborted while they are still small. Parthenocarpy (or stenospermocarpy) occasionally occurs as a mutation in nature; if it affects every flower, the plant can no longer [[sexual reproduction of plants|sexually reproduce]]{{cn|date=May 2020}} but might be able to propagate by [[apomixis]] or by [[vegetative reproduction|vegetative]] means. Examples of this include many citrus varieties that undergo [[nucellar embryony]] for reproduction, instead of solely sexual reproduction, and can yield seedless fruits.