Gloria: Developed by the Rutgers Tree Fruit Breeding program. A large, globose to slightly ovate, 60-90% scarlet red over yellow ground color, yellow-fleshed, freestone peach ripening from August 16-22. The flesh is very firm with low acid and good, very sweet and sub-acid flavor. The tree is vigorous, spreading, and very productive with low susceptibility to bacterial spot. A unique variety because of its very attractive color, low acidity, and lasting flesh firmness. The bloom is late and extended compared to other varieties; hence, in a frost year, Gloria is more likely to avoid full crop loss. It has a very firm flesh that is slow to soften. Fruit physical and chemical (taste) properties of standard and new peach varieties grown in mid-August are described in Table 1. [Read more…]
Mid-August Peach and Nectarine Varieties for New Jersey – New and Standard
Early August Peach Varieties for New Jersey – New and Standard
August is National Peach Month! No wonder many high-quality peach varieties are ripening during this month. Understanding these varieties’ tree and fruit characteristics in New Jersey conditions can help make planting, replanting, and harvest-related decisions. Table 1 describes the physical and chemical properties of some new and standard, early August peach varieties evaluated at RAREC (Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center), Bridgeton. The ripening dates for central and northern New Jersey could be later by a few days.
Coralstar® is a large, globose, 60-80% orange-scarlet red over orange-yellow ground color, yellow-fleshed, freestone peach ripening August 4-7, approximately 9 days after Redhaven. The flesh is firm with a very sweet and mildly tangy flavor, with a pleasant aroma. The tree is moderately vigorous and productive, with low susceptibility to bacterial spot. It is a suitable replacement for Loring. Avoid overthinning, because Coralstar® can have many fruits bigger than 3” even in the first pick. Ideal for canning and sliced peaches.
Challenge: The fruit size is potentially very large with split pit tendencies in light crop years.
FlavrBurstTM is a large to very large, globose 50-80% scarlet red over a reddish yellow green ground color, yellow-fleshed, freestone peach, ripening August 5-9, approximately 10 days after Redhaven. The coarse-textured, firm, melting, somewhat low-acid flesh has excellent sweet flavor. The tree is upright, spreading, and productive, with medium susceptibility to bacterial spot; however, the fruit has slight susceptibility to it. This high-quality variety has excellent size and flavor.
Challenge: The biggest concern with FlavrBurstTM is that it may get a zipper in some years— a slightly open suture that can create an opening point for the brown rot.
Flamin’ Fury® PF 17 is a medium-large to large, ovate to globose, 55-70% crimson red over yellow-green ground color, yellow-fleshed, freestone peach ripening August 6-9, approximately 12 days after Redhaven. The melting flesh is firm with a very sweet and tangy flavor. The tree is vigorous. It is reliably productive, with low to medium susceptibility to bacterial spot and some fruit drop tendency. The size of the fruit improves as trees age, making it one of the most popular varieties in this season. This is an excellent peach for direct retail.
Challenges: It can have many split pits. In years with cloudy days during ripening, the background color change from green to yellow could be very slow; meanwhile, the fruit has ripened. For PF 17, a day’s delay can result in a lot more softening.
Scarlet Prince is a medium to large, globose, 80-90% scarlet red over greenish yellow ground color, yellow-fleshed, freestone peach ripening August 6-9, approximately 12 days after Redhaven. The flesh has adequate to good firmness with very good flavor. The tree is vigorous and productive with low susceptibility to bacterial spot—an attractive peach with great firmness.
Bounty is a large to very large, globose, 40-70% crimson red over light greenish-yellow ground color, yellow-fleshed, freestone peach, ripening August 6-9, approximately 12 days after Redhaven. The flesh is firm with a very sweet and sub-acid flavor and some split pit tendency. The tree is vigorous, spreading, and productive with medium susceptibility to bacterial spot. Fruits need good light exposure to develop a good red blush. This is the standard in this season because of its size and flavor.
Challenges: Bounty can get soft fast, just like PF-17 and Messina. Look for the under-color, and as soon as it turns yellow from greenish yellow, pick it. If you wait for deep red color development from this point, the fruit will be too soft. Assess for picking every two days.
July Prince is a large to very large, globose to ovate, 60-90% attractive scarlet red over a yellow background, yellow melting flesh, freestone peach, ripening August 7-11, approximately 13 days after Redhaven. The flesh is very firm, with a very sweet, acidic, and tangy flavor, slightly fibrous around the pit. The trees are vigorous, upright, spreading, and productive.
Flamin’ Fury® PF 19-007 is a large to very large, slightly ovate to globose, uniformly shaped, 60-90% scarlet red over yellow ground color, yellow-fleshed, freestone peach ripening from August 8-11, approximately 15 days after Redhaven. The flesh is firm with very good flavor, but mealy if overripe. The tree is vigorous and productive with low susceptibility to bacterial spot.
Challenge: Fruit is prone to split pits.
Loring is a large to very large, ovate to globose, 40-60% scarlet red over yellow ground color, yellow-fleshed, freestone peach ripening August 7-10, approximately 13 days after Redhaven. The flesh is firm with very good flavor.
Challenge: Though the tree is very vigorous and moderately productive, it has medium susceptibility to bacterial spot. This variety is more suited for direct marketing because of its relatively short shelf life.
Articles on Previous Season Peach and Nectarine Varieties:
- Late-July Peach Varieties: https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/late-july-peach-varieties-for-new-jersey-new-and-standard/
- Late-July Nectarine Varieties: https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/late-july-nectarine-varieties-for-new-jersey-new-and-standard/
- Mid-July Nectarine Varieties: https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/mid-july-nectarine-varieties-for-nj-silvergem-silverglo-easternglo-and-avalon/
- Mid-July Peach varieties: https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/mid-july-peach-varieties-gala-pf-8-ball-summer-serenade-july-rose-and-pf-lucky-13/
- Early July Peach Varieties: https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/early-july-peach-varieties-sentry-glenglo-ruby-prince-garnet-beauty-and-sugar-may/
- Late June Peach Varieties: https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/late-june-peach-varieties-for-new-jersey-new-and-standard/
Early August Nectarine Varieties for New Jersey – Summer Beaut, Sunglo, and Flavortop.
Summer Beaut – A medium to medium-large, ovate, 90-100% scarlet-red over yellow ground color, yellow-fleshed, semi-freestone, nectarine ripening from July 29-Aug 1. The flesh is firm with a good acidic flavor. The tree is moderately vigorous, moderately productive, and seems to fruit more heavily when planted near another variety. It has medium susceptibility to bacterial spot. Summer Beaut always has a few split pits. Table 1 summarizes the physical and chemical properties of nectarine varieties – Summer Beaut, Sunglo, and Flavortop.
Sunglo – A medium-large to large, globose to slightly ovate, 80-90% orange-scarlet-red, over yellow-orange ground color, yellow-fleshed, freestone nectarine ripening from August 6-9, or approximately 12 days after Redhaven. The flesh is very firm with a very good to excellent acidic flavor. The tree is moderately vigorous and moderately productive, with high susceptibility to bacterial spot.
Flavortop – A medium to large, ovate to globose, 90-100% crimson-red over greenish-yellow ground color, yellow-fleshed, freestone nectarine ripening from August 4-7, or approximately 10 days after Redhaven. The flesh is firm with a very good acidic flavor. The tree is moderately vigorous and productive, with high susceptibility to bacterial spot.
Articles on peach and nectarine varieties in the previous seasons:
- Late-July Peach Varieties: https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/late-july-peach-varieties-for-new-jersey-new-and-standard/
- Late-July Nectarine Varieties: https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/late-july-nectarine-varieties-for-new-jersey-new-and-standard/
- Mid-July Nectarine Varieties: https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/mid-july-nectarine-varieties-for-nj-silvergem-silverglo-easternglo-and-avalon/
- Mid-July Peach varieties: https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/mid-july-peach-varieties-gala-pf-8-ball-summer-serenade-july-rose-and-pf-lucky-13/
- Early July Peach Varieties: https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/early-july-peach-varieties-sentry-glenglo-ruby-prince-garnet-beauty-and-sugar-may/
- Late June Peach Varieties: https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/late-june-peach-varieties-for-new-jersey-new-and-standard/
Late-July Nectarine Varieties for New Jersey – New and Standard
BRIGANTINE is a new yellow-fleshed nectarine with semi-freestone, ripening July 20-25, just before ‘Summer Beaut’ and ‘Redhaven’. It has a full, glossy scarlet coloring with a slight golden-yellow background. Fruit skin is consistently free from blemishes. It has a nice, sweet, and acidic flavor, and firm, melting flesh. Flesh has traces of red. This is a very productive tree with low susceptibility to bacterial spot, while the fruit has slight to moderate susceptibility to bacterial spot. Fruit hangs well. Fruit characteristics of Brigantine and other late-July nectarines are listed below in Table 1. [Read more…]
Late June Peach Varieties for New Jersey– New and Standard
The many peach varieties grown in New Jersey were developed in different breeding programs from several peach-growing regions, including the Rutgers Tree Fruit Breeding program. Recent evaluations have examined the known characteristics and challenges growers face in growing these varieties. These are important for making planting, thinning, harvesting, post-harvest handling, and marketing-related decisions. Understanding these differences is important for selecting varieties or replacing existing ones.
Desiree is a very attractive yellow-fleshed, clingstone peach variety, ripening during the last week of June. The fruit is beautiful and medium to moderately large, which is impressive for the early-season variety. The flesh is firm with a very sweet and tangy flavor. The tree is vigorous, and its leaves have low susceptibility to bacterial spot. The fruit is also having low susceptibility to Bacterial Spot. [Read more…]
High Risk of Frost Damage in Peach Orchards
The below-freezing temperatures on Tuesday (4/8) and Wednesday (8/9) will likely invite frost damage to peach orchards in New Jersey. In several parts of New Jersey, peach flower buds are in the bud swell to the petal fall stage.
Figure 1. Peach bud development stages and corresponding critical temperatures. Adapted from MSU Fruit Extension. Photos by H. Gohil
Bloom progression in southern New Jersey indicates that except for very few delayed blooming varieties such as ‘Gloria’ and “Scarlet Rose’ most varieties will be in the bloom or post-bloom, next week. These are the most vulnerable stages to frost damage (Figure 1). Often, the cause is a few hours below the injury threshold temperature for the developing buds. Monitoring the growth stage and weather conditions will help in determining the actual threat of frost damage and whether to start a frost protection system.
Monitor the orchard temperature. Frost can occur when the ambient temperature dips below freezing (32°F). The hourly falling rate and the lowest forecasted temperature should also be monitored. Because the threshold temperature for each bud development stage is different, and a slight temperature difference can make a difference between frost damage and no damage, it is essential to know the precise temperature. In most cases, the orchard temperature will not be the same as forecasted or reported by the weather channels because the weather station could be farther away than the orchard location. Remember that the nighttime temperatures often dip below the predicted temperatures. It is crucial to have a thermometer in the orchard. Even the data from the nearby weather station could be unreliable. Also, frost alarm systems can give precise temperatures in the orchard and send warning messages to your mobile phone at a set temperature. Some systems can also report wet-bulb temperature, essential when using overhead irrigation for frost protection (Figure 2).
Monitor the bud development stage for each variety block, starting from bud swell. Critical temperatures have been researched and calculated for each bud development stage. For example, at 25°F, a peach orchard in full bloom can expect up to 90% crop loss, but at the first pink stage, it will suffer only marginal loss (Figure 1).
The critical temperature for damage at a particular bud stage may vary by 4-5°F depending on temperatures during the previous few days before the cold event.
Figure 2. Weather Station with in-built frost alarm system in Peach Orchard, Medford, Southern NJ.
Therefore, growers should use caution when using these published critical temperatures for active frost protection methods. Also, knowing the bud development stage for all varieties in the orchard will allow you to prioritize varieties or blocks that need frost protection.
Cloud coverage: Clear skies enhance radiative heat loss into the sky, which results in lower temperatures than when there is cloud cover, which can trap radiant energy from the ground.
Wind Speed: Wind increases the rate of heat loss from the ground and plant tissues. Low speed allows the formation of the inversion layer. Most frost protection methods will have reduced efficiency at wind speeds above 10 mph. Fire or heat application-based methods are less effective at wind speeds below five mph.
The frost protection method should only be employed after determining the actual risk of frost and considering the cost-benefit analysis. The articles below have information on passive and active frost protection methods.
- Active Frost Protection Methods in the Orchard. https://njaes.rutgers.edu/e363/
- Preparing Orchard against Frost – Low Tech Strategies. https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/preparing-orchards-against-the-frost-low-tech-strategies-2/
