Breeding of an early-middle season and yellow-fleshed flat peach Zhongpan 102

Flat peach is originated in China and popular for its unique flat shape and excellent flavor. However, for a very long time there were not so many cultivars for growers to choose because the fruit apex of most cultivars did not close well and the appearance was also not so desirable. In the past few decades, most deficits have been improved and several flat peaches were released, like Jinxia Youpan, Zhong Pantao 11, Zhongyoupan 7, etc. And an era for flat peach has arrived in China. Zhongpan 102 is a new released yellow- fleshed flat peach, which was bred by Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, CAAS. In 1999, Fengbai, a white flesh peach with big fruit but sterility, was chosen as a female parent and NF9260, a late-matured flat nectarine with yellow and thick flesh but small fruit, was chosen as a pollen donation. Among the offspring, a flat peach numbered 99-42-41 was selected for its bigger fruit and prominent appearance, but the yield was not ideal. In 2011, a self-fruited, high yield nectarine cultivar Zhongyou 13 was chosen as the male parent to pollinate 99-42-41 and 31 seedlings were obtained finally. All the seedlings were planted at a space of 1.0 m in the row and 4.0 m between the rows in spring of 2012. The trees were trained to spindle system and only pruned slightly every winter. Other managements were applied according to routine procedure. Most of the seedlings began to flower and fruit in 2014. The plant numbered 11-16-42 performed noticeably well with big fruit, good appearance and high yield. The main characteristics of the mother tree and the grafted trees were stable in the several fruiting years. The regional trial began from 2016 and authorized to release in 2021. The main economic characteristics are as follows: The trees of Zhongpan 102 are vigorous with semi-upright gesture. The branches are red on the sunny side and the budbreak and branching rates are medium. The average internode length is about 2.36 cm. The leaf is about 15.8 cm long and 3.8 cm wide. The leaf shape is elliptic lanceolate with 2-4 reniform leaf glands. The flower color is pink with 5 petals. The inner wall ofcalyx tube is orange. It’s fertile and normally yields very high. The fruits of Zhongpan 102 are large and the average fruit mass is 180- 230 g. The fruits are flat with light green- yellow background and more than 60% surface area covered with rosy red color when mature. The hair on pericarp is medium in length and density. The pericarp is medium thickness and can not separate from the flesh. The flesh is yellow with no anthocyanins in the flesh and under the pericarp at maturity, and occasionally a small amount of anthocyanins stay near the pit. The flesh tastes sweet and juicy with less fiber. The fruit juice contains 12.7%-16.0% soluble solids. The fruit stones are medium in size, flat in shape and brown in color, with a little grain and furrow on the surface. It’s cling-stone. In Zhengzhou, the budbreak time (late February) and flowering time (middle-late March) of Zhongpan 102 are a little bit early. The fruits mature in late June and the fruit development period is about 95 days. The leaves begin to fall in early November and the annual growth period is about 240 days. Zhongpan 102 is recommended to be planted in northern China. Attention should be paid to avoid the alternation of drought and flood in actual production.