Relationship Between Parental Flower Bud Set and Seedling Precociousness in Peach and Nectarine, Prunus Persica(L.) Batsch

Abstract

Flower bud set was evaluated in 18-month-old peach and nectarine Prunus persica(L.) Batsch seedlings growing in a high density nursery system. Nonsignificant correlations between trunk diameter and flower bud set (-0.3) and between trunk diameter and percent fruiting plants (0.03) were found among 36 families from crosses or open pollination. Crosses with ‘ΕarliGrande’ (a light flower bud setter) consistently produced progeny with low bud set, as compared to crosses with Fla. 7-3 (a heavy flower bud setter). The percent of fruiting plants was high in families having Fla. 7-3 as a parent and in families derived from seed parents having a heavy flower bud set. These results indicate that clones with high flower bud set as mature trees tend to produce precocious seedlings. The estimate of narrow sense heritability by midparent-offspring regression for flower bud set in 18-month-old seedlings was 0.55.