Growth and Yield of F1 Hybrid Peaches Developed from Doubled Haploids

Abstract

Doubled haploid peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] lines were cross-pollinated to produce F1 hybrids. F1 hybrids were evaluated at 3, 7, 8, and 9 years after field planting for tree growth as measured by trunk cross-sectional area, and for fruit production as measured by total weight, total number, and production per unit trunk cross-sectional area. Fruit quality of most F1 hybrids was within the range of quality observed in progeny of standard peach cultivars, and tree growth and productivity were similar to those of standard cultivars. F1 hybrids present the possibility of developing scion varieties that can be produced from seed, thus eliminating the need for grafting scions onto rootstocks in situations where specific, adapted rootstocks are not necessary. They could also be used to develop genetically uniform seed-propagated rootstocks. The use of doubled haploid-derived F1 peach hybrids, however, would require reliable, efficient production techniques.