Breeding of a new early-ripening peach cultivar Longmi 10

Abstract: To breed the early-ripening and storable peach cultivar, we chose Tsukuba 84, an early-ripen-ing peach cultivar, as the female parent, and Zaoyou 118, an early-ripening nectarine cultivar for pollen donation. In spring of 2003, the cross was done by artificial stamen-removing, pollinating, and bagging in case of interference from non-targeting pollen. 242 hybrid fruits were harvested after matured. After removing the pulp and seed shell, the hybrid embryos were taken out and stored in a refrigerator at a low temperature. When the radicles of the seeds grew to more than 1 cm, they were taken out and seed-ed in a nutrition pot, and then cultivated in a greenhouse. In May 2004, when the height of hybrid seed-lings reached over 60 cm, the field transplantation of 212 plants was carried out at a spacing of 1.0 m ×2.5 m, and cultivation management was carried out in accordance with conventional methods. Hybrid seedlings began to blossom and bear fruit in 2007. Through the identification and comparison of fruit characteristics among hybrid seedlings, the single plant numbered 03-3-194 had a higher fruit setting rate, with nearly round fruit, whole red color setting, large fruit and excellent quality. The single plant was observed continuously for 4 a, which showed that the economic characteristics of the fruit were good, and mainly the agronomic characteristics were stable. In 2010, the selected plant was chosen as the best plant, and appropriate amount of seedling breeding and high-grafting observation were conduct-ed. Meanwhile, the main cultivar Yuhualu, which was mature at the same time in Gansu province, was selected as the comparative cultivar. In 2011, multi-point synchronous cultivar comparative tests were carried out in Lanzhou, Tianshui, Longnan and other areas where the peach was mainly grown in Gansu province. After continuous observation for 5 a, the traits of the superior plant in different areas were ba-sically the same as those of the parent plant. Due to the changes in cultivation management techniques and climatic conditions, the single fruit weight, coloration and quality were improved to some extent.The experimental results showed that Longmi 10 had a good comprehensive performance in all experi-mental sites in Gansu province, and was superior to the control cultivar Yuhualu in terms of fruit color-ing, flavor, and storage performance, ect., which was well accepted by producers and consumers, and its temporary name was Longmi 10. In 2020, it passed the examination of excellent varieties in Gansu province. The tree is strongly vigorous and semi-opening in canopy. The shape of the leaf is long ellip-tic lanceolate, and the length and width of leaves are 14.59 cm and 4.36 cm, respectively. The color of the leaf is green, with 2-4 kidney shaped leaf glands. The flowers are rose-shaped, with pollen, pistils and stamens highly congruent. The fruit is nearly round, the top is round and flat, and the two sides are symmetrical. The average fruit weight is 180 g, and the largest fruit weight exceeds 260 g. The peel is covered with short and less hairy, with a white ground color and a red coverage of more than 80%. The flesh is white with much anthocyanin around the skin, and fruit texture is crisp. The soluble solids con-tents in the fruit juice are 13.5%-15.2%, titratable acid content in fruit is 0.23% and vitamin C content in fruit is 3.69 mg·100 g^-1. Longmi 10 has strong adaptability and resistance to the cultivation environ-ment. It is suitable for cultivation in Tianshui, Lanzhou and Longnan in eastern Gansu province. In the Anning district of Lanzhou, the bud break of Longmi 10 happens in end of March. The flowers start to open in mid-April and bloom lasts for 5-7 days. The fruits can be harvested in early July, and the fruit development period is about 85 days. The growth period is 225 days approximately.