Introduction to the New Late-Maturing Peach Variety Hongxue Tao

1. Brief Introduction:

The news that our center successfully bred the Hongxue Tao (Red Snow Peach) through hybridization was broadcast nationwide on CCTV Channel 1 at 10 a.m. on November 26, 1993; on CCTV Channel 2's "Agricultural Education and Science and Technology" on January 4, 1994; on Beijing Television's "Agricultural Knowledge Series" on May 9, 1994; on CCTV Channel 7's "Rural Economy" on February 22, 1996; and on CCTV Channel 2's "Agricultural Education and Science and Technology" on May 17, 1996. Experts' appraisal of the Hongxue Tao: "This research is at the advanced domestic level."

2. Variety Introduction of Hongxue Tao:

Hongxue Tao was bred by Ma Yuxi, a senior engineer at the Zhonghua Winter-Ripening Fruit Tree Research Center in Xun County, Henan Province, by crossing "Xue Tao" (Snow Peach) with "Dong Tao" (Winter Peach). The development of this variety completely ended the history of the original Xue Tao lacking coloration and the Dong Tao having small fruit, and thoroughly resolved the shortcomings of the original Xue Tao's physiological natural fruit cracking and rapid browning after the fruit is cut open. It is an ideal new variety of late-maturing peach. It has the advantages of high yield, excellent quality, and extremely strong resistance to fruit cracking. The fruit matures and comes to market at the same time as Xue Tao and is deeply favored by consumers.

Hongxue Tao has strong adaptability. Except for saline-alkali land and waterlogged land, it can be planted in all other soils. On hillsides, hills, and poor land, a spacing of 4 m x 4 m and 42 plants per mu is suitable, while on general land a spacing of 5 m x 4 m and 33 plants per mu is suitable. After planting, it can bloom and bear fruit in 1-2 years, and enters the full fruiting period after 4 years, with fruit yield per plant reaching more than 60-100 kg.

In northern Henan, Hongxue Tao's flower buds begin to swell and leaf buds begin to sprout in early March; the flower buds show pink on March 27; flowering begins on April 1, with pink flowers, and the flowering period lasts 7-10 days. In late June, when the fruit grows to a vertical diameter of 3.8 cm, it enters the pit-hardening stage, and development begins to slow, with almost no visible growth. By August 20, as the temperature drops somewhat, the fruit begins normal growth, and it matures on October 25.

To improve fruit quality, thinning of flowers and fruits should be done during the flowering and young fruit stages of Hongxue Tao. The mature Hongxue Tao fruit is oblate, with a short pointed tip, and the two sides of the fruit suture line are basically symmetrical, with a regular fruit shape. The average single fruit weight is 200-350 g, and the largest single fruit weight is 400-500 g. The sun-facing side has a vivid purplish red color, while the side facing away from the sun is golden yellow. The fruit's alternating red and yellow is very attractive. Fruit harvested at the normal maturity stage has fine flesh, a crisp and sweet taste, and a sweetness that greatly exceeds that of rock sugar. The sugar content is as high as 20-26.5%, ranking first among peach varieties nationwide in sugar content.