Peach

The peach is the third most produced temperate tree fruit species behind apple and pear. This diploid species, Prunus persica, is naturally self-pollinating unlike most of the other cultivated Prunus species. Its center of diversity is in China, where it was domesticated. Starting about 3,000 years ago, the peach was moved from China to all temperate and subtropical climates within the Asian continent and then, more than 2,000 years ago, spread to Persia (present day Iran) via the Silk Road and from there throughout Europe. From Europe it was taken by the Spanish and Portuguese explorers to the Americas. It has an extensive history of breeding that has resulted in scion cultivars with adaptability from cold temperate to tropical zones, a ripening season extending for 6\u20138 months, and a wide range of fruit and tree characteristics. Peach has also been crossed with species in the Amygdalus and Prunophora subgenera to produce interspecific rootstocks tolerant to soil and disease problems to which P. persica has limited or no resistance. It is the best known temperate fruit species from a genetics perspective and as a model plant has a large array of genomics tools that are beginning to have an impact on the development of new cultivars

Crescimento vegetativo, floração e frutificação efetiva do pessegueiro 'Jubileu' submetido a diferentes comprimentos de interenxertos Vegetative growth, flowering and effective fructification of 'Jubileu' peach under different interstock lengths

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos do uso de interenxertos, com diferentes comprimentos, sobre o vigor de plantas de pessegueiro da cultivar Jubileu. Foram utilizados interenxertos da cultivar de baixo vigor, Granada, com 5, 10, 15 e 20 cm de comprimento. Avaliaram-se o crescimento vegetativo, a floração e a frutificação efetiva das plantas. O experimento foi conduzido em Pelotas, RS, de março de 2007 a dezembro de 2008. O crescimento vegetativo do pessegueiro 'Jubileu' está diretamente relacionado ao comprimento do interenxerto. O aumento do comprimento do interenxerto antecipa o início da floração e da plena floração. A redução do vigor, induzida por interenxertos de maior comprimento, promove aumento na diferenciação floral. O interenxerto com 20 cm intensifica a redução do vigor, mas aumenta a mortalidade das plantas. Portanto, os interenxertos com 10 e 15 cm de comprimento são os mais adequados para o adensamento de pomares.<br>The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of different interstock lengths on the vigor of 'Jubileu' peach plants. Interstocks with 5, 10, 15 and 20-cm length, from the low-vigor cultivar Granada, were used. Vegetative growth, flowering and effective fructification were evaluated. The experiment was carried out from March-2007 to December-2008 at Pelotas, RS, Brazil. The vegetative growth of 'Jubileu' peach orchard was directly related to the interstock length. Increases in interstock length anticipate the onset of flowering and full anthesis. Vigor reduction induced by longer interstocks increases floral differentiation. Interstock with 20-cm length promotes the highest reduction in plant vigor, but also increases plant mortality. Therefore, the 10 and 15-cm interstocks are the most suitable for high-density orchards