Fruit Characteristics of the Joy Peach Cultivars

A trio of peach cultivars, Crimson Joy, Liberty Joy, and Rich Joy, have been recently released by the US Department of Agriculture breeding program at Byron, GA. They ripen at Byron in early to mid-June, late June to early July, and mid-July, respectively. Additional data on their fruit development...

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Main Author: Chunxian Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) 2023-03-01
Series:HortScience
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/58/4/article-p428.xml
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author Chunxian Chen
author_facet Chunxian Chen
author_sort Chunxian Chen
collection DOAJ
description A trio of peach cultivars, Crimson Joy, Liberty Joy, and Rich Joy, have been recently released by the US Department of Agriculture breeding program at Byron, GA. They ripen at Byron in early to mid-June, late June to early July, and mid-July, respectively. Additional data on their fruit development are needed to understand the ripening process and optimize harvest timing. This study was designed to measure and compare characteristics of ripening fruit harvested weekly from the three Joy cultivars in two trial orchards. Fruit characteristics were significantly different among the three cultivars, the trial locations, and the harvest weeks. Difference in the five size-related characteristics (fruit weight, flesh weight, pit weight, and equatorial and polar diameters) and soluble solid content (SSC) were statistically significant among the three cultivars. ‘Crimson Joy’ had the smallest averages in the size-related characteristics and ‘Rich Joy’ fruit had the largest. ‘Liberty Joy’ had the firmest fruit and least juice volume and blush rating value at maturation. Trees in the commercial block produced larger fruit than those in the Byron research block. Differences among the harvests were statistically significant for all the fruit characteristics, suggesting that the peach fruit experienced dramatic changes as ripening progressed. The weights and diameters, juice volumes, and SSC continued to increase in the harvests although with reduced firmness. Correlation coefficients varied greatly between these fruit characteristics along with R2 and P values. The highest positive correlations were observed among fruit weight, equatorial diameter, polar diameter, and flesh weight. Pit weight was positively correlated with them to a lesser extent. Firmness showed substantial negative correlations with several characteristics, including three weights, two diameters, juice volume, SSC, and blush rating value. SSC and titratable acidity were also negatively correlated. The data confirmed that peach fruit continued to size while ripening and should be useful to determine appropriate harvest timing, which could differ for commercial packing vs. roadside sales.
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spelling doaj.art-82fe91fa112342e2a0f6e7281f346c452023-03-23T16:57:37ZengAmerican Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS)HortScience2327-98342023-03-01584428432https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI17056-22Fruit Characteristics of the Joy Peach CultivarsChunxian Chen0US Department of AgricultureA trio of peach cultivars, Crimson Joy, Liberty Joy, and Rich Joy, have been recently released by the US Department of Agriculture breeding program at Byron, GA. They ripen at Byron in early to mid-June, late June to early July, and mid-July, respectively. Additional data on their fruit development are needed to understand the ripening process and optimize harvest timing. This study was designed to measure and compare characteristics of ripening fruit harvested weekly from the three Joy cultivars in two trial orchards. Fruit characteristics were significantly different among the three cultivars, the trial locations, and the harvest weeks. Difference in the five size-related characteristics (fruit weight, flesh weight, pit weight, and equatorial and polar diameters) and soluble solid content (SSC) were statistically significant among the three cultivars. ‘Crimson Joy’ had the smallest averages in the size-related characteristics and ‘Rich Joy’ fruit had the largest. ‘Liberty Joy’ had the firmest fruit and least juice volume and blush rating value at maturation. Trees in the commercial block produced larger fruit than those in the Byron research block. Differences among the harvests were statistically significant for all the fruit characteristics, suggesting that the peach fruit experienced dramatic changes as ripening progressed. The weights and diameters, juice volumes, and SSC continued to increase in the harvests although with reduced firmness. Correlation coefficients varied greatly between these fruit characteristics along with R2 and P values. The highest positive correlations were observed among fruit weight, equatorial diameter, polar diameter, and flesh weight. Pit weight was positively correlated with them to a lesser extent. Firmness showed substantial negative correlations with several characteristics, including three weights, two diameters, juice volume, SSC, and blush rating value. SSC and titratable acidity were also negatively correlated. The data confirmed that peach fruit continued to size while ripening and should be useful to determine appropriate harvest timing, which could differ for commercial packing vs. roadside sales.https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/58/4/article-p428.xmlprunus persicasoluble solid contenttitratable aciditypit weightslow melting
spellingShingle Chunxian Chen
Fruit Characteristics of the Joy Peach Cultivars
HortScience
prunus persica
soluble solid content
titratable acidity
pit weight
slow melting
title Fruit Characteristics of the Joy Peach Cultivars
title_full Fruit Characteristics of the Joy Peach Cultivars
title_fullStr Fruit Characteristics of the Joy Peach Cultivars
title_full_unstemmed Fruit Characteristics of the Joy Peach Cultivars
title_short Fruit Characteristics of the Joy Peach Cultivars
title_sort fruit characteristics of the joy peach cultivars
topic prunus persica
soluble solid content
titratable acidity
pit weight
slow melting
url https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/58/4/article-p428.xml
work_keys_str_mv AT chunxianchen fruitcharacteristicsofthejoypeachcultivars