'Zaohongxiang', a superior early-maturing plum cultivar

Abstract: 'Zaohongxiang', an early-ripening plum cultivar, was newly selected out among 65 hybrids derived from the cross between the American-introduced plum cultivar‘Red Beauty'(female parent)and the Japan-introduced plum cultivar‘Oishiwase'(male parent). The hybrid cross was made in 2006 and‘Zaohongxiang'plum was approved by the Approval Committee for Improved Varieties of Forest Tree of Henan Province in December, 2018. The fruit shape of‘Zaohongxiang'plum is near globose with attract appearance and the average fruit weight is 56.0 g, and the maximum fruit weight is 76.0 g.The fruit is symmetry, the apex is light round bulge, the suture is deep, and the cavity is deep and wide.The fruit ground color of‘Zaohongxiang'plum is yellowish green and it turns to be bright red at full ripening stage. The peel of‘Zaohongxiang'plum fruit is medium thick and covered with heavy skin powder. The flesh of‘Zaohongxiang'plum is yellow in color, crisp and delicate in texture, with a low fiber content, and the edible rate can reach up to 98.3%. The fruit is with very rich in juice, with balanced sugar/acid ratio and intense fruity aroma. The fruit soluble solids content is 16.1%, the total soluble sugar content is 8.31%, the reducing sugar content is 2.84%, the total acid content is 1.81%, and the vitamin C content is 86.8 mg·kg^-1.‘Zaohongxiang'plum is clingstone and the stone is oblate in shape,the average dry stone weight is approximately 1.2 g. The longitudinal diameter, transverse diameter, and side diameter of stone is 2.05 cm, 1.41 cm, and 0.82 cm, respectively. The fruit can be stored at room temperature for about 15-20 days. The tree habit is spreading and tree vigor is strong. The color of perennial branch is dark grey, and one year branch is reddish brown in color. The habit of one year branch is titled and it is smooth with no pubescence. The internode length is 1.34 cm, and the lenticel is dense and small, grey white in color and elliptical in shape. The flower is with five petals and is white in color,with one pistil and 32-41 stamens. The leaf is deep green in color and reverse lanceolate in shape, the leaf apices is acute and the base is cuneiform. The length and width of leaf is 8.53 cm and 3.77 cm, respectively. In Zhengzhou,‘Zaohongxiang'plum starts germinating in early March. The early blossom date is in middle March, the full blossom date is in late March, and the flowering period is approximately 7 days. The leaf bud starts germinating in late March and expands in early April. Tree defoliation starts in mid-November, and the tree vegetative growth period lasts about 220 days. The fruit development period is about 66 days. The ripening date is nearly at the end of May in Zhengzhou. Fruits of‘Zaohongxiang'plum are mainly bore on bouquet spurs and short fruiting branches. Fruiting starts at the second year and high yield period usually comes at the fourth year after grafting, and the average yield of a fiveyear tree reaches up to 36.0 kg.‘Zaohongxiang'plum is a new early-ripening cultivar which exhibits strong suitability to undesirable circumstances, and is highly and stably productive for high quality fruits. It is suitable to be cultivated in Henan Province and the surrounding provinces and cities.