Peach Breeding Programme for New Cultivars and Different Traits -Pomological and Phenological Data Analysis with a Ranking Method

摘要

The main purposes of the peach breeding programme developed at CRA-FRU are presented. These include the selections of new cultivars competitive with the best cultivars present in the market and new types of peaches and nectarines with a flat shape anda completely deanthocyanic flesh and skin.All the descriptive (pomological, phenological and agronomical) data were collected during a period of about 20 years. Data of the 535 single advanced selections (365 peaches and 170 nectarines) and of 125 cultivars (57 peaches, 51 nectarines, 13 flat shape and 4 deanthocyanic fruits, respectively) were elaborated with a ranking method. A first evaluation was made considering the following characteristics: weight, shape and over-colour extension, taste, firmness, fruit symmetry, yield and ripening period. All the 302 peaches, 42 flat and 21 deanthocyanic selections and all the 161 nectarines, 8 flat and 1 deanthocyanic selections obtained a score that was compared with those of the 72 referring peach cultivarsand 53 nectarines.In order to select the most promising accessions for the two fruit types, another specific multi-criteria ranking method was adopted and a second score analysis was done. For the flat form fruit type, the absence of cracking and other damages, for the deanthocyanic flesh fruit type, the white-cream skin, the flesh coloration and the perception of low acid taste were respectively considered.The last step was to exclude the lowest total score selections, the contemporaneous very similar selections, from which only one was maintained, and those that ripen at the same time of the licensed or commercial cultivars but with no superior traits. More than 90% of the cultivars were discarded after the different selection steps.The pomological and phenological characteristics of the top peach selections (11 peaches, 8 nectarines, 8 flat peach and 4 deanthocyanic peaches and 1 nectarine) are presented.