FIVE-YEAR PERFORMANCE OF 19 PEACH ROOTSTOCKS AT 20 SITES IN NORTH AMERICA

Authors: REIGHARD, G - CLEMSON; ANDERSEN, R - CORNELL; ANDERSON, J - UTAH STATE UNIV; AUTIO, W - UNIV OF MA; Beckman, Thomas; BELDING, R - RUTGERS; BROWN, G - UNIV OF KY; COWGILL, W - RUTGERS; DEYTON, D - UNIV OF TN; DURNER, E - RUTGERS; ERB, A - KS STATE UNIV; FERREE, D - OHIO STATE UNIV; GAUS, A - CO STATE UNIV; HIRST, P - PURDUE UNIV; KAPS, M - SW MISSOURI STATE UNIV; MILES, N - HORT RES INST OF ONTARIO; MORRISON, F - KS STATE UNIV; MYERS, S - OHIO STATE UNIV; PERRY, R - MICHIGAN STATE UNIV; SHANE, W - MICHIGAN STATE UNIV; TAYLOR, B - SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIV; TAYLOR, K - UGA; WARMUND, M - UNIV OF MISSOURI

Submitted to: Acta Horticulturae
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/20/2000
Publication Date: 7/20/2001
Citation: REIGHARD, G.L., ANDERSEN, R.L., ANDERSON, J.L., AUTIO, W.R., BECKMAN, T.G., BELDING, R.D., BROWN, G.R., COWGILL, W.P., DEYTON, D., DURNER, E., ERB, A., FERREE, D.C., GAUS, A., HIRST, P., KAPS, M.L., MILES, N.W., MORRISON, F., MYERS, S., PERRY, R.L., SHANE, W., TAYLOR, B.H., TAYLOR, K., WARMUND, M. FIVE-YEAR PERFORMANCE OF 19 PEACH ROOTSTOCKS AT 20 SITES IN NORTH AMERICA. ACTA HORTICULTURAE. v.557. p.97-102. 2001.

Interpretive Summary: Peach production in North America has relied on peach seedling rootstocks since the mid-1800s. Today, peach growers face severe replant problems, the loss of soil fumigants and agri-chemicals, increased production costs and reduced yields due to shortened tree longevity. To increase orchard productivity and efficiency, growers are looking for solutions in the form of new rootstocks that are more resistant to abiotic and/or biotic stresses. The NC-140 committee, a US and Canadian group of cooperating researchers, was organized to test new rootstock selections over a wide rang of sites in North America. A trial of newly released rootstocks and advanced selections was established at 20 sites in North America in 1994. After 5 years small but significant differences were apparent in tree growth, fruit yield and fruit size. Neither bloom date nor fruit maturity was much influenced by rootstock. No rootstock consistently performed better than the current commercial Lovell, Nemaguard or Bailey rootstocks. Some performance trends appear to be developing and superior lines may yet be identified.

Technical Abstract: Nineteen Prunus rootstock cultivars and selections budded with Redhaven peach were planted at 20 locations in North America in 1994 as an official planting of the NC-140 Cooperative Regional Rootstock Project. The rootstocks included 15 peach seedling lines, 3 clonal lines and 1 interstem on a peach seedling line. Five-year data were summarized across the 20 sites in 18 states and provinces. Tree growth, measured as trunk cross-sectional area, was best in southern Illinois, central Tennessee, southeastern Missouri, eastern Maryland and central New Jersey. Across all locations no rootstock was more vigorous than Lovell or Nemaguard. However, within locations some rootstocks produced larger trees than Lovell and/or Nemaguard. Full bloom date was delayed 1.0 to 1.5 days with Ta Tao 5 interstem. Fruit maturity was slightly earlier on Ishtara whereas it was delayed on Ta Tao 5. Rootstock genotype effect on bloom advancement and ripening delay in days was much longer in the South (i.e., Georgia, South Carolina). Highest cumulative fruit yields were from Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio and South Carolina. Few rootstocks yielded better than Lovell and these differences usually were not significant at most sites. The largest fruit were from Massachusetts, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and Colorado. Relative fruit size was not affected by rootstock generally, except for Myran, which tended to have smaller fruit than Lovell. After 5 years, no rootstock has consistently performed better than the standard Lovell. Some performance trends are developing and superior rootstocks may be identified in the future after additional data are collected during the next 5 years.