Agronomic performance of the Maciel peach with different rootstocks

Abstract

The rootstock influences the agronomic performance of fruit plants. In Prunus persica (peach), particularly those varieties produced in Brazil, this relationship is not well understood. We, therefore, set out to evaluate the performance of the peach cultivar Maciel with eight rootstocks, Aldrighi, Capdeboscq, Flordaguard, Nemaguard, Okinawa, Umezeiro, Tsukuba, and Seleção Viamão, planted in 2006 and evaluated in the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 seasons. Phenology of flowering, trunk diameter, canopy volume, fruit number, and yield were evaluated in the field. For the fruit, we evaluated the mass, diameter, color, flesh firmness, soluble solids concentration, titratable acidity, concentration of total phenolic compounds, carotenoids, and antioxidant activity. Plants from the Aldrighi and Nemaguard rootstocks flowered earlier than plants from the other rootstocks in 2014, and in 2015, flowering was variable in all rootstocks. The cultivar Maciel on Umezeiro had low vigor, trunk diameter, and canopy volume. On Aldrighi, Capdeboscq, Flordaguard, Nemaguard, and Tsukuba this cultivar showed good production rates. The fruit color, flesh firmness, concentration of soluble solids, total phenolics, antioxidant activity, and total carotenoids were influenced by rootstock and harvest.