A meeting on early and intermediate peach cultivars organised by Lorenzo Berra and Davide Nari from Agrion (foundation for research, innovation and technological development regarding agriculture in Piedmont) was held on 8th August. For the first time ever, fewer people attended, due to the discouragement of producers caused by the crisis that is affecting the sector. Despite the high quality of the produce, in fact, demand is much lower than supply.
During the meeting, Davide Nari talked about the weather and general characteristics of the produce. "Between January and June, temperatures were +0.7 above average, while precipitations were below average (-160 mm), particularly between April and July."
"Blossoming was 3-4 days early than 2016. This year, peaches are exceptional, with satisfying quantities and grades. Organoleptic qualities are excellent: 1.5-2° Brix higher than 2016 and titratable acidity 1-2 meq/l lower. Very little freestones and russeting. But it doesn't seem to be enough."
Lorenzo Berra listed a few varieties that could be interesting for the Piedmont area. "Even though no new orchards are being planted due to the crisis, research must continue."
As regards yellow nectarines, the cultivars permitted for commercial cultivation are: Big Top® Zaitabo, Gea, Alitop, Orion and Sweet Red; while those permitted for extended experimentation are Carene® Monecar, Pit Stop, Nectareine Nectapom® 29, Nectagala Nectapom® 32.
Big Top® Zaitabo continues to remain the reference cultivar for harvests around 7th July, as there is still no viable alternative. Ripening holds but productivity is not always satisfactory. It is sensitive to russeting and freestone in years with unfavourable weather, but 2017 was not the case.
Gea is harvested around 12 days after Big Top® Zaitabo and produces large appealing fruits with a round shape and a deep red colour. Flesh is compact and juicy and the flavour is sweet and aromatic (13.7°Brix; 10.5 meq/100mL). Trees are not very vigorous, so single-stems on vigorous rootstocks are recommended. The load must be distributed carefully to avoid excessive grades.
Alitop is harvested 2 weeks after Big Top® Zaitabo. It has a constant high productivity and fruits have uniform large grades with a deep red colour on 70% of the skin. The flavour is sweet and aromatic with low acidity (13.4°Brix; 7.8 meq/100mL). The flesh is compact and ripening holds.
As regards yellow peaches, the cultivars permitted for commercial cultivation are Ruby Rich® Zainoar, Vista Rich® Zainobe, Summer Rich, Royal Summer® Zaimus, Rome Star, Zee Lady® Zaijula and Summer Lady; while those permitted for extended experimentation are Royal Majestic® Zaimajal, Sweet Dream, Royal Pride® Zaisula and Rojal Jim® Zaigadì.
Royal Majestic® Zaimajal produces appealing fruit with a deep red colour and round regular shape. The sanguine flesh has a good consistency and a good flavour of the acidic type (10.9°Brix; 12.5 meq/100mL). Plants are easier to manage than Rich, but it's important to direct production on mixed vigorous branches and pay attention to early detachments favoured by early colour development, as they penalise quality because the fruit is still too acidic.
Royal Summer® Zaimus is a medium-vigour plant easy to manage. Productivity is high with good grades. Fruits are round, appealing, with a light yellow background and a deep red blush. Flavour is excellent: sweet and aromatic (12.9°Brix; 6 meq/100 mL).
Sweet Dream is a medium-vigour plant easy to manage with high productivity. Fruits are large, with a regular round shape and a yellow background with a red blush. The flesh is compact with a nice sub-acidic flavour (14.8 °Brix; 4.7 meq/100mL).
White peaches are important for the niche market, so they need to be excellent. Nabby® ZAI 674 PB, Ophelia® ZAI 685 PB and Nerisa® ZAI 668 PB are the most interesting varieties.
Fercluse has good potential for the processing industry and can be used in organic crops due to its scarce sensitivity to monilia.
Presentations can be downloaded from: www.agrion.it
The meeting on summer apples and late peaches will be held on 30th August at 2:30 pm at the Centro per la frutticoltura Agrion in Manta (CN).
The meeting on summer apples and late peaches will be held on 30th August at 2:30 pm at the Centro per la frutticoltura Agrion in Manta (CN).
