Performances of Introduced Peach and Nectarine Varieties in Thailand

Abstract

Performance of sixteen peach and six nectarine varieties were studied in the highlands of Thailand for 5 years (1982 – 1987) at the Royal Ang Khang Station. Among the peach varieties, EarliGrande gave the highest yield of 18.6 kg/tree, while Fla 5 – 4 produced only 1.8 kg/tree, the lowest. Florda King and Fla 5 – 18 were the two varieties with large fruits (>140 gm). Flordared and Flordasun yielded the small sized fruits (< 70 gm). The highest fruit firmness at harvest was found in the Fla 5 – 4 with 16.05 kg/cm², while Swellen Grabriel gave the lowest figure of 7.14 kg/cm². The percent total soluble solids of the fruits at harvest was in the range of 9.2 – 10.6 ^oBrix and was not significantly different among the varieties studied. In nectarine, the biggest fruit of 90.9 gm was found with Fla 5 – 14 and this variety also produced the highest yield of 13.6 kg/tree. The smallest fruit was found with the Sun Red variety, 44.8 gm. Fla 5 – 8 gave the highest fruit firmness at harvest (13.72 kg/cm²) whereas Sundowner gave the lowest figure (8.39 kg/cm²). The percent total soluble solids of the fruits at harvest was in the range of 10.6 – 13.3 ^oBrix and was not significantly different among the varieties. Varieties recommended for commercial production by hilltribe farmers are the EarliGrande peaches and the Fla 5 – 14, and Sundowner nectarines. The fruit characters of these introduced varieties are discussed in relation to those reported from other countries.