Genetic progress of the peach breeding program of Embrapa over 16 years

Abstract

The peach breeding program of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), addressing the adaptation to mild winter conditions, is one of the largest in the world and maintains a germplasm collection of nearly 900 accessions. The objective was to estimate the genetic progress in fruit weight (FW) and fruit development period (FDP) resulting from the above program, by analyzing data records of 16 years (2000-2015) of 65 genotypes. Based on samples of ≥ 10 fruits, the mean annual FW (in g) and FDP (in number of days) from full flowering to harvest were determined. In the 16 years, the gain in FDP consisted of respective reductions of about-12.8,-3.3,-2.8 days for canning peach, fresh peach and nectarine. However, the genetic progress in fruit weight was 5.3, 1.4 and-17.9 g fruit-1 for canning peach, fresh peach and nectarine, respectively.

BRS Jaspe: a processing peach cultivar for low chill areas

“…The peach breeding program of Embrapa Clima Temperado (lat 31° 40' 47" S, long 52° 26' 24" W, alt 60 m asl), in Pelotas, RS, was initiated at the experimental station of Pelotas, of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA), as early as in the late 1950's, to develop stone fruits adapted to mild winter conditions (Corrêa et al 2019). At the beginning of the breeding program, the peach harvest season was concentrated at the end of December and lasted about 15 days.…”

Phenological characteristics and yield potential of some late-ripening peach hybrids

“…Fruit weight is a very important trait that largely determines the market value of the fruit and the peach yield. Breeding in order to increase fruit weight has achieved better results in industrial than in fresh peach cultivars (Corrêa et al 2019). This trait is highly correlated with fruit dimensions (Albuquerque et al 2004) and carotenoid content in fruit (Matias et al 2016).…”

“…Currently, the main goal in peach breeding is creating cultivars that are adapted to different environmental conditions, resistant to diseases, and high yielding, as well as the creation of cultivars with prolonged ripening time (from very early to very late) and good quality, large, firm, and attractive fruit suitable for storage and transport (Cantín et al 2010, Batlle et al 2012, Bassi and Foschi 2013, Iglesias 2013. One of the very important goals of peach breeding is the creation of low-chill cultivars (Corrêa et al 2019). Also, some breeding programs are aimed at creating rootstocks for peach of high uniformity, adapted to the growing region and with good interaction with cultivars (Oliveira et al 2018).…”

Clonal selection in S0 and S1 peach trees evaluated in a subtropical environment

“…The viability of peach growing in regions with mild winters is a result of the use of cultivars with low chill requirements (Santana et al 2020). Therefore, the breeding of peach for those regions is aimed mainly at the development of cultivars with a chill requirement compatible with the climate of those locations (Corrêa et al 2019, Silva et al 2020b).…”