Tuesday, September 5, 2017

New peach, plum varieties hit market

Three new varieties each of peaches and plums are coming close to release from a breeding program run jointly by the University of Guelph and the Vineland Research Station.

Prof. Jayasankar Subramanian, who is among Canada’s leading tender fruit breeders, said the varieties have made it through the breeding and testing phases in 18 years, which is considered speedy.

They are undergoing the final phases of on-farm trials.

So far, grower reviews have been positive, and word about the new varieties is spreading, Subramanian said.

Ontario-grown yellow plums are popular at home and for export.

In a news release, the university says “the market appears ripe for a variety that is slightly bigger, with more post-harvest durability.”

Subramanian said there are enough “clean” buds available for the two new plum varieties to produce enough trees for large-scale planting. Growers can then obtain those trees and produce fruit for the market.

Growers want the new peach varieties “released as quickly as possible,” Subramanian said. “Both peaches are early season varieties” which means they will be more competitive with imports from the United States.

‘If Ontario peach growers can have fruit ready to ship around the same time, they could get a jump on the imports and achieve a better price for their product,” says the news release.

“From flowering to fruiting is the key here,” Subramanian said. “Peaches, whether they are an early or late variety, all flower within that 10-day window in May.

“But some of them fruit early and some fruit late. It is the maturity period of the fruit that determines when the final product will hit the market.”

One of the new plum vareties is larger than other yellow Japanese varieties, Subramanian said, and is about the same size as black and red plums currently on the market.

He said the new variety is a complement to the popular, time-tested Shiro variety, which is smooth, sweet and petite.

“This could even eventually replace Shiro in the local market,” Subramanian said.

Shiro plums tend to become translucent, as well as soft and watery, a week or 10 days after picking. The new selection does not share those tendencies.

Fruit breeders assess the potential of new varieties based on about 20 characteristics, most related to fruit properties, disease resistance and the growing season.