In order to visualize the progress made and conduct the first commercial evaluation of the selection of peaches, nectarines and plums developed by the Stone Fruit Genetic Improvement Program (PMG) of the Fruit Technology Consortium, Dr. Juan Pablo Zoffoli, a specialist in post-harvest from the Catholic University, and his team, conducted a post-harvest assessment session with members of the PMG's Technical Committee.
The session took place on Friday February 10 at the Post-harvest Laboratory of the Faculty of Agronomy of the Catholic University of Chile in Santiago.
"The development of new varieties is a long process. It requires a lot of effort and dedication. We are very satisfied to be conducting the first post-harvest commercial evaluation of the nectarine selections that have been developed to date. It's important is to note that Dr. Basilio Carrasco, a geneticist, was in charge of the first stage of this program, which mainly consists of crossovers and evaluating the fruit harvest, while Dr. Juan Pablo Zoffoli, an expert on post-harvest, was in charge of the second stage, in which we test the fruit's commercial viability and post-harvest," said Maria Fernanda Alvarez, Coordinator of the Fruit Technology Consortium.
Alvarez also said that the Stone Fruit Breeding Program expected to develop three varieties of high quality stone fruit (peach, plum, and nectarine) that were tolerant to cold damage, i.e. that can resist long journeys without losing their quality, conditions, and juiciness. "The goal of this program is to develop Chilean varieties of peach, nectarine and Japanese plum for the export industry. The industry needs to generate varieties with specific characteristics; tasty fruits that can withstand 35 to 40 days of cold storage. In short, fruits that have a good post-harvest," she said.
The assessment
During the session, the participants had the opportunity to evaluate and taste two selections of peach (D3 and D10) from commercial productions located in San Francisco de Mostazal and Lampa, as well as a selection of nectarine (N1), grown in Mostazal, and a selection of plum (C3) grown in San Francisco de Mostazal and in Curacaví.
The fruit had undergone cold storage (0 ° C) for 40 days, plus four days at ambient temperature (20 ° C) to simulate the process that the fruits undergo when they are exported to far away markets, such as Asia, and placed on supermarket shelves for the final consumer to buy.
"To date we have 15 selections of peaches, nectarines, and plums. However, we are only evaluating two selections of peach, one selection of nectarine, and a selection of plum because the other selections still haven't met the storage time. Once they do, we will conduct these assessments for each selection," said Dr. Juan Pablo Zoffoli.
Zoffoli said that one of the main constraints of stone fruit, especially of peaches, was that it lost its juiciness when stored for a long time. Thus, having varieties that have a very good degree of juiciness and firmness is an important step forward for the program. "Currently, there are almost no commercial varieties of peaches that can be stored for 40 days, and the existing ones have a firm texture, and ultimately are not juicy. The importance of the two selections presented today is that they retain their juiciness for days after being taken out of cold storage," he said.
He also added: "The program has already finished conducting crossbreeds, now we're at the stage were we evaluate the hybrids and the selections. We are still evaluating some hybrids' potential to become a selection."
Regarding when the Consortium would have the first varieties of Chilean stone fruit ready, the academic said: "This is a first commercial evaluation of the selections, which will allow us to have a better understanding about their commercial behavior, so that we can select the fruit that best meets the requirements of the industry and the markets. These selections come from different areas, different trees, and have different commercial management, all of which will help us move forward to patent a variety. We believe we could have a variety in one more season."
The Consortium and its programs
The Fruit Technology Consortium emerged as the industry's response to the State's invitation to co-finance an R & D program that focused on solving the sector's problems. It consists of 27 different producers and exporters. One of its main partners is the Fruit Exporters Association of Chile, ASOEX, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, as a technology partner.
Currently, the Consortium is carrying out 5 breeding programs, supported by biotechnology tools, and its design and results to date are comparable with those of international programs. These programs are the Table Grape Breeding Program, which is led by Dr. Patricio Arce; Apple Tree Breeding Program, led by Dr. Pablo Grau, the Stone Fruit Breeding Program, led by Dr. Juan Pablo Zoffoli, the Cherry Breeding Program, led by Dr. Marlene Ayala, and the Raspberry Breeding Program, directed by Dra. Marina Gambardella.
Source: simfruit.cl