The National Institute for Forestry, Agricultural and Livestock Research (INIFAP) is analysing, selecting and recording different peach varieties in the National Catalogue of Plant Varieties, with the aim of identifying those resistant to frosts and pests.
The new varieties included are Fred, Atlax (Tlaxcala), Irina, Frost, Snow and Early Victoria, which are the result of an evaluation and selection from hybrid families established in a wide range of climates, differing in the annual accumulation of cold units, risk of frosts, rain distribution and incidence of pests and diseases.
From these it was possible to select the most outstanding genotypes in terms of tolerance to frosts and resistance to Sphaerotheca pannosa and brown rot. Other aspects were also analysed, such as the impact of growth, productive potential, maturing season and fruit quality defined in terms of size, shape, sugar content, acidity and post-harvest shelf life.
In Mexico peaches are grown in a wide variety of climates, from the warm areas at sea level of Sonora to the elevated and cold ones of Chihuahua; from the dry areas of Zacatecas, with less than 400 millimetres of annual rainfall, to Puebla and Veracruz, with more than 2,000 millimetres.
Some of the regions with potential for peach growing can be found in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Morelos, Jalisco, Chiapas, Aguascalientes and Sonora
The varieties and selections derive from a joint effort between the National Council of Peach Producers (Comedurazno, A.C.) and INIFAP's researchers, with partial funding from SAGARPA-CONACYT, to obtain varieties that improve on the ones currently being grown all over the country.
It is worth noting that both the new varieties and the selections obtained enter an exhaustive process of assessment, validation and transfer to fruit growers from the 10 eco regions where peaches are currently grown in Mexico.
According to data from the Agri-food and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP), last year almost 44,000 hectares of peach crops were registered, producing a total 167,285 tonnes and reaching a value of 205,964,000 pesos.
Source: Sagarpa