April 2021 - 9

Arkansas Ag Experiment station releases new white-flesh peach
By Fred Miller
University of Arkansas
Whitewater, a new peach from the
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment
Station's fruit breeding program,
features a low-acid, white-flesh fruit
that ripens in June.
" This is a nice, early harvest addition
to our white peach series, " said
Margaret Worthington, fruit breeder for
the Agricultural Experiment Station,
the research arm of the University
of Arkansas System Division of
Agriculture. " It helps extend the harvest
season for peach growers. "
Whitewater is the 11th publicly
released peach from the fruit breeding
program since it was founded by the
late James N. Moore in 1964. It is the
sixth low-acid, white-fleshed peach
from the program. Moore's overarching
goal that continues today is to develop
quality cultivated fruit varieties adapted
to Arkansas growing conditions,
Worthington said.
Its average harvest date of June 27
makes it the earliest peach cultivar
from the Arkansas breeding program.
That puts it five to 10 days before White
Rock, the next earliest peach.
Worthington said Whitewater has
a texture and flavor similar to White
County, which was crossed with
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test cultivars that have known chill
requirements.
Flowering occurs in March,
Worthington said, with an average full
bloom date of March 16 at the testing
location on the Fruit Research Station
near Clarksville.
" That's comparable to Souvenirs, "
Worthington said, " but three to seven
days earlier than other peach cultivars
in the Division of Agriculture breeding
program. "
Whitewater has moderate fruit
and leaf resistance to bacterial spot,
Worthington said.
Whitewater trees budded on
Margaret Worthington, assistant professor of fruit breeding and genetics, has released a new
low-acid, white-flesh peach with the earliest harvest date of all peaches from the Arkansas
Agricultural Experiment. Photos: Margaret Worthington/University of Arkansas
another experiment station peach,
Souvenirs, to develop the new peach.
" Whitewater has an attractive
white flesh without red flecking or
discoloration. Its skin has a full red
blush that averaged 86% coverage
over nine years of observation, "
Worthington said. " Whitewater has
a low-acid, aromatic flavor. It has a
good size for an early-ripening peach.
It has slow melting flesh and holds on
the tree a bit longer than some other
peaches. But it softens later for those
who like melting flesh. "
Worthington added that Whitewater
has good storage and handling
characteristics, similar to other
slow-melting flesh peaches like White
County and Souvenirs. It's intended for
fresh market use and is well adapted to
the growing climate in Arkansas and
other southern states.
Chilling requirement was not
determined, Worthington said, but
she estimates it would be near
800 hours below about 44˚ F, based
on observations of budbreak and
bloom in comparative plantings with
Guardian rootstock received acceptable
ratings for vigor and overall tree
health, Worthington said, though
bacterial canker was observed. Crop
load ratings and yield were comparable
to other University of Arkansas
program cultivars.
Non-exclusive licenses for
propagators are available. For
information about licensing, contact
Cheryl Nimmo at 479-575-3953 or by
email at cnimmo@uark.edu.
To learn more about Division of
Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas
Agricultural Experiment Station
website: https://aaes.uark.edu. Follow
us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch and
Instagram at ArkAgResearch. FGN
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FGN | APRIL 2021 | 9
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April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2021