Evaluation of low-chill peach and nectarine cultivars in a temperate-subtropical climate transition zone of central-eastern Argentina

Abstract

Peach is a dynamic crop in terms of breeding. The central area of Santa Fe, Argentina, constitutes a transition zone between temperate and subtropical climate. This work aimed to evaluate the reproductive traits and internal fruit quality of twenty-five introduced low-chill peach and nectarine cultivars. The percentage of vegetative and floral budbreak, flower density and the percentage of fruit set were calculated for each cultivar. At harvest, fruit firmness, juice content, total soluble solids of the juice, and acid concentration were determined. Fruit color was also measured by determining the Hunter coordinates. Principal component analysis allowed segregating cultivars with similar properties: (i) those with reddish fruit coloration, low fruit size and fruit yield; (ii) those with high fruit yield and fruit size; (iii) those with high total soluble solid content, juiciness and ratio, and later maturation; and (iv) those with high fruit set and fruit acidity. Although cultivars can be chosen according to these characteristics, the most recommended cultivars that combined the best characteristics of fruit quality and reproductive behavior were ‘Fla 91-8c’, ‘Rojo dos’, ‘Nect 22’, ‘Tropic Snow’, ‘Hermosillo’, ‘Jubileo’, ‘Fla 1-8 bis’, and ‘Chimarrita’.