The main goals of the breeding programme developed at CRA-FRU are
presented. These include the selections of new types of peaches and nectarines. We
considered traits specifically limited to the fruit such as: flat shape, low-acid taste,
anthocyaninless and bloody flesh. All the descriptive (pomological, phenological,
agronomical) data, collected over 20 years on 535 advanced selections (365 peaches and
170 nectarines) were analyzed using a ranking method, in order to depict the best
performing individuals. The most important characteristics in the evaluation were:
weight, shape and over-color (with a higher ranking score), taste, firmness, fruit
symmetry, yield and ripening period. Among the 365 peach selections, 42 flat peaches,
21 anthocyaninless, 39 bloody fleshed and 5 low acid were identified for further analysis.
Among the 170 nectarines, 8 flat, 1 anthocyaninless, 2 low acid, and 20 bloody fleshed
selections were identified for further analysis. In order to select the most promising
individuals, specific multi-criteria ranking method was adopted for each fruit type: for
the flat shape, the absence of cracking and other damages; for low acid, the Soluble
Solid Concentration (SSC); for the anthocyaninless flesh, the white-cream skin and
flesh coloration and the perception of low acid taste; for the bloody flesh, the red flesh
color higher than 35%, the SSC content and the lack of cracking and rust were
considered. The last step was to exclude the contemporaneous selections and those that
ripen at the same time as the licensed or commercial cultivars. Using above criteria it
was possible to discard about 90% of the selections. The pomological and phenological
characteristics of the top peach selections are presented
