ARS | Publication request: PEACH AND NECTARINE ROOTSTOCK NAMED 'K146-43'

Submitted to: Patent Application
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: April 21, 2004
Publication Date: May 27, 2004
Citation: Dejong, T.M., Ramming, D.W., Johnson, R., Doyle, J. 2004. Peach and nectarine rootstock named 'K146-43'. Patent Application. Serial No. 10/438,487.

Interpretive Summary: K146-43 is an inter-specific hybrid (Prunus saliciana x P. persica) rootstock that is graft compatible with peach and nectarine scion cultivars and confers size-control (approximately 40-50%) to the scion cultivars. Peach trees grown on this rootstock are productive, smaller and require less pruning than trees on Nemaguard, the standard rootstock. The problem is that commercial peach and nectarine trees are large and vigorous in growth and need to be summer pruned to let light into the tree to color the fruit better. Also, since they are taller, ladders are required for most field operations, such as thinning, picking, and pruning. This rootstock would reduce the need to summer prune, reduce the use of ladders, and as a result reduce the cost of production of peaches and nectarines for the fresh and processing market.

Technical Abstract: K146-43 rootstock is an interspecific hybrid rootstock, Prunus saliciana x P. persica, useful primarily as a commercial understock for peach and nectarine cultivars. The stock has been successfully propagated clonally by hardwood cuttings. This rootstock imparts a substantial degree of vigor control to the scion cultivar that has been propagated on top of it. This growth-controlling rootstock allows for the reduction of the height of orchard trees without compromising the quality of the fruit borne upon the tree. This is turn increases the efficiency of various cultural operations such as pruning, thinning, and harvesting by reducing the need for workers in the field to use tall ladders when carrying out these operations.