Node Type Development of Four Low-chill Peach Cultivars at Three Locations in Florida

Abstract

<jats:p>The effect of climate was observed on the relative frequency of vegetative and floral buds in four low-chill peach cultivars (‘Flordaprince’, ‘Flordaglo’, ‘UFGold’, and ‘TropicBeauty’). The trees were planted in north–central, central, and southwest Florida. The percentage of blind nodes, mixed nodes (nodes with vegetative and floral buds), and nodes with only vegetative buds were determined from three representative shoots per tree at each location. In general, higher percentages of blind nodes were observed in central and southwest Florida and higher percentages of mixed nodes were observed in north–central Florida. ‘TropicBeauty’ tended to have a greater percentage of blind nodes than the other cultivars. Higher temperatures during bud formation most likely contributed to the increased amounts of blind nodes observed in the central and southwest locations and to the reduced amounts of mixed nodes. However, stresses imposed by bacterial spot and hurricanes may have contributed to the higher incidence of blind nodes in 2005. Our results indicate that certain genotypes have a predisposition for the formation of blind nodes. Advanced selections having low chilling requirements and potentially being adapted to a wide diversity of tropical or subtropical climates need to be tested in multiple locations to evaluate blind node formation.</jats:p>

The Influence of Climate on Fruit Development and Quality of Four Low-chill Peach Cultivars

“…Generally, fruit set and cropping were higher for 'UFGold' than for 'TropicBeauty'. In a related study, Wert et al (2007a) found a greater incidence of blind nodes on 'TropicBeauty' than on 'UFGold'. Blind node development can reduce fruit set and have an effect on fruit size similar to flower or fruit thinning.…”

“…Generally blush values observed in southwest Florida agreed with previously reported information (Rouse and Sherman, 1989b;Lyrene, 1989, 1997;Sherman et al, 1982). Higher blush values at the central and southwest locations may also be attributable in part to higher incidence of blind nodes caused by higher temperatures during bud development at these locations than in north-central Florida (Wert et al, 2007a). This would allow for greater sunlight penetration into tree canopies at the warmer locations.…”

“…This effort has required a significant investment of time and labor because superior commercial quality germplasm was not adapted to low-chill environments and required hybridization with low-quality adapted germplasm for cultivar development (Sherman and Lyrene, 2003). The cultivation of peach in a subtropical environment has revealed that breeding for adaptation did not only require selection for the appropriate chilling requirements, but selection for other traits such as low blind wood (Richards et al, 1994;Wert et al, 2007a), fruit shape (Topp and Sherman, 1989b;Wert et al, 2007b), and fruit set (Lyrene, 2005).…”

Branching and Blind Node Incidence in Interspecific Backcross Families of Peach

“…Differences in blind node frequency among cultivars and locations can have a large impact on the pruning and potential yield in peach (Wert et al, 2007). A wide range of blind node frequency (0% to 90%) has been reported for the University of Florida peach germplasm, demonstrating that there is genetic variability for blind node incidence, and breeding against this disorder should be feasible if its mode of inheritance can be determined (Richards et al, 1994).…”

“…Higher rates of blind nodes are observed in warmer sites like central and southwest Florida than in north-central Florida (Wert et al, 2007). Trees grown in the highlands of the subtropics or coastal climates that have cool summers do not show blind nodes but when taken to warm humid climates such as Florida often exhibit this disorder (Richards et al, 1994).…”