A new middle-maturing and yellow-fleshed peach cultivar Yujinmi 3

Abstract: Peach (Prunus persica L.) is one of the most important fruit crops in the world, which is popular by consumers as the flesh is sweet and fruit is covered with excellent color. Yellow-fleshed fruit are rich in carotenoids, which have multiple physiological activities that are beneficial to human health, especially like antioxidation. Therefore, yellow flesh is one of the most important breeding goals in peach. There are many peach varieties in China but most of them are white fleshed, and only a few have yellow flesh. In recent years, yellow-fleshed peach cultivars have been obtained and they have attracted more and more consumers due to requirement of nutrition and health. Yujinmi 3 (YJM3), a new yellowfleshed peach cultivar, was obtained from a natural cross of Qiumihong (QMH) with late-maturing and white- flesh, which was bred by Henan Agricultural University. Two hundred and ninety- six natural cross fruits were harvested in 2001, and then hybrid seeds were sown into a greenhouse. 156 healthy seedlings were obtained in 2002. Hybrid peach trees began to flower and fruit in 2004, and among them, the fruit of Yunong 01-2-20-6 exhibited yellow flesh, hard melting and excellent flavor by the observation of three consecutive years. The Yunong 01-2-20-6 was selected as an excellent plant in 2006 for further trails. The bud wood of Yunong 01-2-20-6 was grafted onto the wild peach rootstocks (Amygdalus persica) and planted in three production areas (Zhengzhou, Nanyang and Xinyang city) in Henan province for variety comparison and regional trails. QMH and Huangjinmi 3 (HJM3) were served as the control. All testing peach trees were planted by 3 m between trees and 5 m between rows under normal management conditions. After 5 years of observation (2014—2019), it was concluded that the characteristics of YJM3 were obviously different from the female parent QMH and HJM3. The full bloom dateof YJM3 is early-April, similar with QMH and HJM3. The flowers of YJM3 are showy and have fertile pollen. The average ripening date of YJM3 is early August, about 120 d after full bloom, which is similar with HJM3 (about 5 d earlier), but 40 d earlier than QMH. The fruit is oval in shape, yellow ground color, almost no hair on the skin, clingstone and easy peeling at mature stage. The average fruit weight is 245 g, and the maximum fruit could be up to 322 g. The flesh is yellow and hard melting. The contents of vitamin C, total sugars and soluble solids contents in the mature fruit are 7.2 mg·100 g^-1 , 8.2%-10.8% and 13.9%-16.2%, respectively. The vitamin C and total sugars contents are similar with HJM and QML, while soluble solids content is between HJM and QMH. The total acid content is 0.26, similar with HJM3 and QML. To identify the difference between YJM3 and QMH at the molecular level, 12 SSR primers were used, and among them, eight primers showed a same band, while four primers were different, indicating that YJM3 and QMH showed an obvious difference due to male genotype. Based on comprehensive excellent performance, YJM3 was certified by the Evaluation Committee of Henan Province in 2019 and was suggested to be suitable for cultivation in Henan province.