A new early bearing cross longan cultivar Huataifeng with flavor

Abstract: Huataifeng (HTF) is an eminent cultivar selected from the crossing of Shixia and Xiangcui created and evaluated at National Longan Germplasm Nursery in Fuzhou, Fujian, China. Shixia is a prominent cultivar with high quality and fertility native to Guangdong, populous among Chinese cus-tomers. Xiangcui is a bud-mutation from Biew Khiew (a Thailand cultivar) with large fruit size and abundant fragrance. The hybrid was created in 2009 via artificial pollination, 148 seeds were gathered and consequently 112 seedlings were obtained. Line 09- 1- 70 (ultimately named HTF) was selected  from the cross population for its early bearing capacity (fruiting initiated in 2012). Longan production suffered severe yield lose in Fujian province in 2013 due to off-year bearing, while HTF had a high flowering rate and yield as usual. The stable flower formation of this line might give rise to stable fruit production. It was then to top-grafted onto a mature longan tree in 2013. The grafted trees started to bear fruit in 2014, and from 2014 to 2017 all the grafted trees showed stable and consistent characteris-tic including high flesh recovery, high total soluble sugar content and abundant fragrance. Its fruit weight is 27.8%-48.2% higher than that of Shixia. From 2018 to 2021, HTF was the most consistent bearing line and showed no alternative bearing problem. Consequently, in 2021, HTF was certified in Fujian Province (no. 9352021Y0075). This cultivar has a strong growth vigor and a semi-open tree ar-chitecture. The bark is gray-brown and split into narrow rough ridges. Twigs are red-brown and smooth.The mature compound leaves are in size of (14.1-26.0) cm × (12.2-25.1) cm, and their 4-5 pairs of leaf-lets are green, lanceolate, and (12.8-18.7) cm × (3.9-4.7) cm in size. The leaf margins are wavy, and apex narrowly acuminate. The juvenile phase of 3 years of this cultivar is rather short. And it forms in-florescence every year. Its flower cluster is large and scattered. The oblate fruit are uniform in size with a blue- brown pericarp. The fruit base is flat, sometimes with one risen shoulder and the fruit tip is round. The skin segments are obvious. The fruit has an average longitudinal diameter of 2.73-2.81 cm, average transverse diameter of 2.89-2.93 cm, and average lateral diameter of 2.67-2.70 cm. The aril is milky, translucent, fragrant, tender and crisp, and can be easily separated from the seed. Average fruit weight is (12.7±1.0) g. The flesh recovery is (70.8±1.6)%, and TSS (22.7±2.8)%. HTF has an excellent grafting affinity to many main cultivars, such as Shixia and Chuliang (mainly cultivated in Guangdong province, Hainan province and Guangxi Autonomous Region), Fuyan, Songfengben, Lidongben (main-ly cultivated in Fujian province), and Shuguan, Lufeng (mainly cultivated in Sichuan province). The productivity of 7-year-old grafted trees can be up to 26.3 tons per ha (density 600). Bud breaking of HTF begins in late February, similar to that of Shixia, and the first leaf matured in late May. Inflores-cence morphological differentiation initiates in late February; flowers bloom from late April to early May, and ends in late May. The fruit matures during early September to early October in Fuzhou.