If healthy, pest-free fruit are on the ground, they are probably ripe. Stems prepare to separate. When an apple or pear is ready to pick, the stem swells and creates a weak point that will separate from the branch when the apple is lifted. If the apple is not ready, the stem will bend and the fruit will not separate.
anÂ·aÂ·lyte. (an'Ä-lÄ«t) A material or substance the presence or concentration of which in a specimen is determined by analysis. analyte. a substance or material to be analyzed; a molecule to be analyzed by mass spectrometry.
atom atÂ·om (Ät'Ém) n. A unit of matter, the smallest unit of an element, having all the characteristics of that element and consisting of a dense, central, positively charged nucleus surrounded by a system of electrons.