Evaluation of Peach Cultivars in Cool, Mesic Ullensvang, Norway

Abstract

In a cool, maritime Nordic climate, where fruit have been grown for many centuries, 13 early maturing peach (Prunus persica) cultivars from northern European climates were evaluated over a 6-year period. Peach leaf curl (Taphrina deformans) was the main disease affecting production. The most consistent yielding cultivar was Riga with 5.74 kg/tree in 2009, 2.06 kg/tree in 2010, and 4.71 kg/tree in 2011. Harnas yielded 6.93 kg/tree in 2010, but had very low yields in 2009 and no yield at all in 2011. ‘Harnas’ fruit quality was excellent when compared with all other cultivars, but trees were extremely susceptible to peach leaf curl. ‘Riga’ was somewhat tolerant of peach leaf curl but flowered early. We conclude that none of the cultivars tested are suitable for commercial production. However, looking forward, both ‘Riga’ and ‘Harnas’ may be suitable for commercial tunnel production and home gardens. Furthermore, ‘Harnas’ and ‘Riga’ could be considered for use in future breeding programs for this cool, mesic Nordic climate.