What are the characteristics of the sweet peach variety Zaoyanli?
The earliest-maturing sweet peach variety in China. It comes to market on May 20 in the Puyang area of Henan Province, 5-7 days earlier than Chunlei and early nectarine. The single fruit weighs 150-200 grams, with the largest fruit weighing 248 grams, 2-3 times that of Chunlei and early nectarine, and it has excellent quality, a well-formed fruit shape, bright fruit color, and sweet, pure fruit flavor, with a soluble solids content of 13-15%. When first ripe it is crisp and sweet; when soft ripe it is honey-sweet. This variety is easy to manage and high-yielding. Generally, if planted in the first year, it bears fruit in the second year, and in the third year the yield per tree is more than 20 kg. Every five years, the yield per high-yielding tree can reach 150 kg. Because this variety matures early, it has fewer pests and diseases, less natural disaster risk, and a short tending period, so it saves labor, time, pesticide and money compared with ordinary varieties. The Hanyanli peach tree has moderately strong vigor, a semi-spreading tree habit, robust new shoots, a patterned texture at the base of the branches, medium-large leaves, and dark green leaf color; the old leaves at the base turn red at the end of May. The first bloom period is in early April, it is self-pollinating, and the fruit set rate is high. Alternate bearing is not obvious. Recommended planting density: 55-110 trees/mu in open field, 300-450 trees/mu in greenhouse.