CULTIVAR AND SEASONAL INFLUENCE ON STONE CHARACTERISTICS OF CLINGSTONE CANNING PEACHES

Research into the influence of cultivar and season on stone weight and stone tip length of clingstone canning peaches was undertaken to improve the selection criteria for processing quality.
It is desirable to have a smaller stone to enhance the appearance of processed peach halves, and to increase the volume of flesh available for processing into other fruit products.
From an industry perspective, long stone tip is a serious fault because stone tips (splinters) can break off during stone removal in the cannery.
Stone splinters longer than 3 mm in length in the canned product pose a potential health risk to consumers.
Within the peach germplasm of the Australian Canning Peach Breeding Program at Tatura, there is a large variation in stone weight and stone tip length.
Differences in stone characteristics were determined in two clingstone canning peaches, ‘Tatura 212’ and ‘SAB 90’, and progeny of a cross between ‘Tatura T212’ and ‘SAB 90’. The relationship between stone weight and stone tip length, and year-to-year variation was also examined in ‘Tatura 204’, the main Australian canning peach cultivar.
Stone weight and stone tip length were found to vary significantly between ‘Tatura 212’ and ‘SAB 90’. Progeny stone weight and stone tip length were intermediate between those of the parents.
There was no relationship between stone weight and stone tip length in ‘Tatura 204’. Significant variation occurred between years in stone weight and stone tip length.
This paper will discuss the use of reference trees for more objective assessment of progeny for stone characteristics, and the potential of breeding to reduce both stone weight and stone tip length.

VI International Peach Symposium

S. Richards

stone weight, stone tip, Prunus persica

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2006.713.25