Results of simulations with contrasted crop loads. The architecture of the ‘Fuji’ 2 tree was used for these simulations and different crop loads were simulated with random addition or removal of fruits on production units. Crop load was estimated as the ratio of fruit number to tree leaf area. (A) Mean dry fruit weight (points) and weights of the smallest and biggest fruits (dashed lines) according to crop load. (B) Final tree leaf area and mean carbohydrate reserve content in leafy shoots depending on crop load. (C) Impact of crop load (1) on the amount of intercepted radiation throughout the growing season at the tree scale [photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) divided by the number of fruits (PAR/Fruits), (2) on mean daily photosynthesis per leaf area unit (Pn efficiency).