Internal fissures in plums

[ameno]

A number of my plums this year have a weird physiological quirk. They look completely normal on the outside, but when you cut them open they have a peculiar fissure running across the inside of the fruit, near the base. This fissure leaves a hollow trench in the fruit and, most oddly, even cuts through the stone - the very tip of the stone is detached, as though something had cleanly slice it off.
It's not caused by any insects or anything (some of the fruit have plum moth, but not these ones), and it's in both my Victoria and Czar plums, so seems not to be a varietal thing, so I'm curious to know what's causing it and if anyone else has ever experienced it.

[nickdub]

I don't know the cause, but I wonder from the description of the condition if it might be caused by some problem with pollination.

[ameno]

I don't know the cause, but I wonder from the description of the condition if it might be caused by some problem with pollination.

The kernel in the stone is completely normal, though. If there were pollination issues I would expect it to be shrivelled or distorted.

[ameno]

I've done some digging, and I think I've found out why this is happening.

Basically, the whole fruit does not always grow at an even rate, and certain parts grow faster than others. On top of this, the plum stone does not harden evenly all at once. As a result, if the fruit experiences a period of rapid growth at the right time the force of the growing fruit can cause a piece of the stone to break off, and presumably also cause a tear and subsequent hollow in the internal flesh of the fruit.

[Nicos]

^^^^ interesting bit of detective worth there!
Interesting given the unusual weather we've had.

[ameno]

Apparently it can be a real issue for commercial plum crops (because the ones with cracked stones don't keep very well). Not really an issue for me, though, as I'm eating then withing a day or two of picking.

[nickdub]

Thanks for updating us Ameno - as with all these sorts of biological oddities, it serves to prove to me how little I know about how these systems work at a fundamental level. Tempted to become a biological researcher into plant growth after my next reincarnation (not enough time left in this current life). :-)