Increased resistance of plants to pathogens from multiple higher-order phylogenetic lineages

Transgenic plants, plant tissue, and propagation materials are disclosed that exhibit or convey increased resistance to pathogens of multiple higher-order phylogenetic lineages. The disclosed transgenic plants and plant tissues include plant cells containing a DNA construct encoding Gastrodia Anti-Fungal Protein (GAFP), also known as gastrodianin, an anti-fungal gene naturally occurring in a Chinese orchid, Gastrodia elata. Transgenic plants disclosed include herbaceous plants as well as woody plants, including fruit trees. Disclosed transgenic plants can also be beneficially utilized as rootstock, for instance rootstock for stone fruit crops such as peach, thereby conferring enhanced disease resistance to the rootstock without genetically altering the scion

Ripening, nutrition and postharvest physiology

Peach fruits ripen rapidly and have a short postharvest life, usually limited to 3-4 weeks depending on storage conditions. They are climacteric fruit that ripen on the tree or after harvest if picked mature. Crop maturity at harvest strongly influences quality and shelflife. Determination of ideal harvest maturity is critical to maximise yield, fruit size and consumer acceptability. Generally, early-harvested fruits have good storability but they are of lower quality than late-harvested fruits, which have higher quality but shorter storage life