Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) is an evergreen fruit tree species of the Rosaceae, and its unique flowering time greatly hinders its production. To explore the artificial regulation of loquat flowering time, we removed the main inflorescence (by cutting it) to induce reflowering. For different loquat tree cultivars with different stages, the inflorescence was removed by cutting the main floral axis at two alternative positions: the upper or the lower position beneath the inflorescence, and it was found that the proportion of reflowering resulting from removing the upper position of the main floral axis of yellow-flesh loquat cultivars during the full-bloom stage was the highest. In addition, compared with those of the normal-growing panicles, the number of flower buds and branch axes of the reflowering panicles decreased significantly after cutting. Importantly, these newly produced inflorescences flowered 2–4 months later than normal-growing inflorescences did, effectively prolonging both the flowering and fruiting time. In addition, qRT-PCR results showed that EjFT1, EjFT2, EjAP1–1 and EjAP1–2 were highly expressed in the floral axis. These findings highlighted a new method for extending the production cycle of loquat and provided a reference for the flowering regulation of loquat and other economically important fruit tree species.

枇杷（Eriobotrya japonicaLindl.)是蔷薇科常绿果树种，其独特的花期极大地阻碍了其生产。为了探索枇杷开花时间的人工调控，我们去除了主要花序（通过切割）以诱导重新开花。对于不同时期的不同枇杷树品种，通过在花序上部或下部两个交替位置切断主花轴去除花序，发现去除上部位置导致的重花比例黄肉枇杷品种盛花期主花轴最高。此外，与正常生长的圆锥花序相比，重花圆锥花序的花芽数和分枝轴数在扦插后显着减少。重要的，这些新产生的花序比正常生长的花序晚 2-4 个月开花，有效地延长了开花和结果时间。此外，qRT-PCR 结果表明，EjFT1、EjFT2、EjAP1-1和EjAP1-2在花轴中高度表达。这些发现为延长枇杷生产周期提供了一种新方法，为枇杷等经济重要果树的开花调控提供了参考。