Biological function of high-speed oil microjet ejections in citrus fruits

Ascertain the biological function of high-speed microjets issued from bursting oil gland reservoirs in citrus fruits that are triggered by external bending-induced rupture, establishing the ecological or physiological role of this ejection behavior.

Background

Citrus fruits eject high-speed microjets from oil gland reservoirs when the compressible foam-like layer near the surface ruptures under bending deformation, producing jets of approximately 102±20 μm diameter at speeds up to 8.5±4.0 m/s.

These ejections exhaust aromatic volatile oil and exhibit breakup regimes characterized by high Weber numbers; despite detailed physical characterization, the biological or ecological purpose of these jets is not identified in the review.

References

The function of this fluidic ejection in citrus fruits remains unknown.

— Fluid ejections in nature  (2403.02359 - Challita et al., 2024) in Section: Regimes of Newtonian Fluidic Ejections; Subsection: Inertio-capillary Regime ($Bo<1$, $We>1$); Subsubsection: Fungi and Citrus: Explosive Fluid Jets