Tehuelche INTA, Chamamé INTA, and Rosalinda INTA are new peach cultivars that will be available to consumers from a local producer starting in November 2025. These varieties are included in a register of 30 cultivars created by INTA San Pedro in 2017, with names that reflect Argentina's national identity—such as popular dances, native communities, rivers, and prominent women.
"Developing and registering a new fruit variety usually takes at least 15 years. While biotechnology tools can speed up this process by predicting fruit behavior from molecular data, bringing the variety to market still takes several more years," explained Gerardo Sánchez, a researcher at INTA San Pedro.
© INTA Argentina Rosalinda INTA.
The commercial insertion process was formalized in 2021 through a partnership with the Chamber of Producers and Packers of northern Buenos Aires. Local producers were invited to test or adopt these materials. Four companies planted five varieties of each of the 30 cultivars to observe their performance, while two others accepted a method that permitted planting a bush on a commercial scale," said Gabriel Valentini, an INTA San Pedro researcher.
Currently, 80% of the varieties cultivated in the north-east of Buenos Aires are materials introduced, evaluated, or registered by INTA San Pedro since it began activities in fruit growing. The current effort focuses on updating this list by adding varieties that reflect the knowledge gained over many decades of fruit cultivation in the region.
One of the growers who took the risk for this renewal is now bringing his material to market. He may not be among the biggest growers, but he had to renew his fruit orchard and chose to invest in new cultivars, focusing on traits such as harvest time, plant characteristics, and, especially, fruit color and size.
The technical team explained that introducing a new variety to the market takes time. First, growers select the variety; then, the plants are cultivated based on the specific area, as they are not readily available in stock. After planting in the fields, it takes 2 to 3 years for the plants to produce their first harvest.
For more information:
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
www.argentina.gob.ar
