Early Summer Red Giant Peach: A New All-Red, Firm-Fleshed, Large-Fruited Peach Variety

Early Summer Red Giant Peach is a new all-red, firm-fleshed, large-fruited, high-quality peach variety successfully bred by the Stone Fruit Tree Research Institute of Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province. This variety has moderate tree vigor, spreading branches, strong bud-break and branching ability, and all types of fruiting branches bear well. It has Rosaceae flowers, abundant pollen, a high fruit-setting rate, and strong productivity. It bears fruit in the second year after planting, with an average of 7.5 kg per tree and a maximum of 15 kg; in the third year, the average yield per tree is 36 kg, with a maximum of 55 kg. The fruit is oblate, with a flat apex, a deep and prominent suture, and symmetrical halves. It is extra large, with an average single-fruit weight of 245 g and a maximum of 650 g. The fruit is attractive, develops a deep red color, has a smooth skin and relatively little fuzz, and the flesh is white with red, showing blood-thread-like distribution outward from near the pit. It is hard-melting, fine and crisp in quality, with a rich sweet flavor and a soluble solids content of 17.5%. The pit is clingstone. After the fruit ripens, it remains firm on the tree for 20 days. In the Lunan region, it blooms in early April and ripens in late June, and the fruit can remain on the tree until after late July without softening. The fruit development period is 87 days.

1. Tree shape and density: For open-field cultivation, the tree can be trained to a three-main-branch open-center shape or a free spindle shape, with a suitable density of 4 m x 3 m. For greenhouse cultivation, the tree can be trained to a free trunk shape or an inverted "V" shape, with a suitable density of 2 m x 1 m.

2. Control the fruit load: Begin thinning fruit 10-15 days after flowering. Leave 3-4 fruits on long fruiting branches and 1 fruit on short fruiting branches. Generally, the fruit load per mu should be controlled at 12,000-15,000 fruits.

3. Fertilize by stages: Before bud break, apply 2-3 cubic meters of organic fertilizer per mu; during the fruit enlargement stage, apply 30 kg of diammonium phosphate per mu; after fruit harvest, apply 40 kg of ternary compound fertilizer per mu; after leaf fall, apply 2-3 cubic meters of organic fertilizer per mu. For foliar fertilization, spray once a week from the fruit enlargement stage to the ripening stage.

4. Summer pruning: After fruit set, promptly prune out non-fruiting branches, upright vigorous branches, leafless fruiting branches, and thin weak branches. During the young fruit growth period, remove vigorous growing branches on the outer part of the canopy. After harvest, to improve light conditions in the tree, promptly thin out dense branches and old, weak branches.

5. Pest and disease control: Focus on controlling peach aphids and bacterial shot hole disease. Before bud break, spray 3-5 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture to control overwintering pests and diseases. Before flowering and after petal fall, spray once each with 10% imidacloprid 1500x solution to control aphids. For bacterial shot hole disease, spray 70% thiophanate-methyl 800x solution or 80% Dacotech-45 800x solution at the early stage of disease occurrence.