Back to Search Start Over

Fruitlet Freeze Tolerance in Peach Germplasm

Authors :
Ufuk Caglar
John Mark Lawton
Juan Carlos Melgar
Ksenija Gasic
Source :
Agronomy, Vol 14, Iss 2, p 302 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

Climate change is affecting the production of temperate fruit crops. Freeze damage, particularly in spring, has resulted in significant economic losses in peach production in the southeastern United States. Research efforts in peach and other Prunus species have primarily focused on dormancy-related traits associated with bloom time, such as chill and heat requirement, with fruitlet freeze tolerance not equally represented. This study reports fruitlet freeze tolerance in 75 peach and nectarine accessions at six freezing temperatures (0 to −10 °C) using electrolyte leakage method over two seasons (2022–2023). Fruitlet freeze tolerance ranged from −3.9 to −10.2 °C with an estimated freeze damage ranging from 16–48% of fruitlet tissue with the majority of the accessions showing tolerance to cold temperatures in the −4 to −6 °C and 25–35% range. Variability in tolerance was noted across years, including some inconsistencies between tolerance group assignments. Grouping based on the estimated damage showed better stability and some accessions changed their grouping from the extremes to an intermediate tolerance group. Interestingly, nectarine accessions were among the most tolerant in both seasons. Broad-sense heritability of 0.52 and 0.85, estimated for freeze tolerance and % tissue damage, respectively, suggested genetic control of this trait with a potential for improvement via breeding.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20734395
Volume :
14
Issue :
2
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Agronomy
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.8cceb50bf15d4f8aa86f5ab60d126d22
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14020302