PEACH BREEDING PROGRAM IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL

A breeding program was initiated in Pelotas, Brazil, in the late 1950s to develop peaches adapted to the mild winter and high relative humidity conditions.
The program has evaluated and crossed a wide range of local and foreign accessions.
During the first years the main goal was the extension of the 15-day-only harvest season and the cultivars released from the program extended this period to more than 90 days.
Pronounced tip in fruits was also a problem, not present in the recently introduced cultivars.
Presently, the priorities of the program are: 1) Climate adaptation. 2) Resistance to brown rot and bacterial spot: ‘Bolinha’ and some of its selections by open pollinations, and a few others are among the less susceptible to Monilinia fructicola, whereas selections ‘Conserva 930’, ‘Cascata 1020’ and the old cultivar ‘Cristal Taquari’ show some resistance to bacterial spot and are being extensively used for cross breeding. 3) Fruit size: ‘Granada’, ‘Maciel’ and ‘Santa Àurea’ and several selections represent one step ahead towards this objective. 4) Overall quality with emphasis on flavor. 5) Productivity: newer cultivars and selections can produce from 20 to 30 tons/ha, depending on the soil and orchard management. 6) Time of ripening, with emphasis on early ripening.

VI International Peach Symposium

M.C. Bassols Raseira, H. Bonifacio

adaptation, cultivars, disease resistance, low chilling

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2006.713.9