Resumen
Ten low-chill peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batch] cultivars were evaluated for tree growth, fruit yield and fruit quality over four seasons. 'August Pride', 'Flordaprince' and 'Tropic- Snow' produced the greatest tree trunk cross sectional area (TCSA) growth and yielded the greatest number of fruit and total fruit weight per tree. 'Eva's Pride' and 'Mid-Pride' were intermediate in growth and fruit yield. 'Red Baron', 'Double Jewel', 'Bonita', 'Saturn' and 'Southern Rose' were the least vigorous and the lowest yielding cultivars. In general, the lower yielding cultivars had smaller trees with higher yield efficiencies. With the exception of 'Double Jewel' and 'Southern Rose', these cultivars produced fruit with significantly higher total soluble solids (TSS), and higher sensory ratings for sweetness and flavor intensity in two out of three years. In view of the better and acceptable fruit quality and smaller trees, 'Red Baron', 'Saturn', 'Bonita', 'Double Jewel' and 'Eva's Pride' may be better suited for home gardeners. They may also be better suited because they provide a continuous June 10 through July 31 fresh peach harvest window. Paradoxically, the cultivars with the higher fruit quality scores were also more susceptible to powdery mildew infection. The disease was adequately controlled with Rally (Myclobutanil).