Flowering and yield potential of promising peach hybrids from crossing combination ‘Flaminia’ × ‘Hale Tardiva Spadoni’

Abstract

This paper presents the results of two years of research experiments (2011-2012) for flowering phenology (start, full and end) and yield potential (initial and final fruit set, fruit weight and yield m(‑1) of shoot length) of eight promising peach hybrids obtained from crossing combination 'Flaminia' × 'Hale Tardiva Spadoni'. The flowering of studied hybrids occurred from the end of March to mid-April and lasted from 10.0 to 14.0 days. Hybrids FH1, FH4 and FH6 dispayed the earliest and hybrid FH5 had the latest start of flowering. The tested hybrids were statistically significantly different in terms of initial and final fruit set and fruit weight. Initial fruit set was very high and ranged from 69.3% in the hybrid FH3 to 97.9% in the hybrid FH7. The hybrid FH7 had the largest final fruit set (52.7%), while the hybrid FH1 had the lowest final fruit set (24.0%). Fruit weight ranged from 97.7 g (hybrid FH6) to 165.6 g (hybrid FH3). The highest yield m(‑1) of shoot length was obtained in hybrids FH3 (2.7 kg) and FH7 (2.6 kg) and lowest in hybrids FH5 and FH8 (1.8 kg). Hybrids FH3 and FH7 can be singled out as potentially the most cropping, which makes them interesting for growing in areas where there is a risk of frost. Also, they can be important in breeding programs when creating new peach cultivars of high yield potential.