An excerpt from a recent article by Sun World's Terry Bacon 

California growers plant new peach and nectarine cultivars in order to remain competitive, largely motivated by oversupply during mid-season and by the desire to offer fruit with timing and quality that can demand premium prices.  Over 70% of new peach and nectarine trees sold during 1999-2002 were cultivars less than 10 years old and many of the new cultivars planted represent a shift away from the mid-season, yellow-fleshed, traditional-acidity cultivars that were the mainstay of previous years. 

The most significant recent trends have been increased plantings of new early-season cultivars, white-fleshed cultivars, and low-acidity (also known as ‘sub-acid’) cultivars.  These recent planting trends have the potential to change the way the U.S. consumer perceives stone fruit in the future.

Early-season cultivars:  Price-per-box is significantly higher during the early part of the season and the price differential for fruit size categories is substantial, which has long been an incentive for growers to plant early-ripening cultivars.  However, older early-ripening cultivars have disappointed growers with marginal production and fruit that is difficult and expensive to size.  Fruit quality and flavor of early-season cultivars is often marginally acceptable to consumers as well.  Recently available early-ripening cultivars with improved production and size has stimulated renewed plantings of early-season cultivars and during the four years from 1999-2002, 43% of peach trees sold and 36% of nectarine trees sold were early season cultivars (see graphs at end of article). 

Consumer acceptance of early-season peaches and nectarines as a group has not been adequately studied considering the level of recent plantings of these cultivars, but researchers have shown that consumer acceptance is significantly related to soluble solids concentration (SSC).  University of California researcher, Carlos Crisosto found in studies that nectarine fruit with <10% SSC was ‘neither liked nor disliked’ by 39% of consumers and ‘disliked’ by 26% of consumers.  Current early-season cultivars may not consistently pack-out at acceptable SSC levels and some fear that increased volumes of early-season peaches and nectarines will adversely affect demand later in the season and will eventually erode per-capita consumption.  Moreover, with marginal consumer acceptance, supply may quickly exceed demand if plantings of early-season cultivars continue at the current rate, and grower prices will fall to mid-season levels. 

White-fleshed cultivars: In the early 1990’s California growers began to plant white-fleshed peaches and nectarines for export markets in Taiwan and Singapore although fruit quality of available cultivars was marginal at the time.  Breeders responded with accelerated programs to develop improved white-fleshed cultivars and by 2000, cultivar development and export markets began to mature.  Today white-fleshed fruit has developed into a viable product in the domestic U.S. market, differentiated by the CTFA with the ‘Summerwhite®’ trade name.  In 2002 California growers shipped over 4 million boxes of white-fleshed peaches with 73% bound for domestic markets and 27% for export markets.  Growers shipped nearly 4.5 million boxes of white-fleshed nectarines with 55% bound for domestic markets and 45% for export markets. 

White-fleshed cultivars are not new, but with increased availability and improved quality of new cultivars it is easy to see that they have emerging as viable new products in the U.S. domestic marketplace.  The impact those new products will have on the market and with regard to consumer buying habits is not well understood, and it is yet unclear to what extent white-fleshed fruit will be accepted in addition to yellow-fleshed fruit and to what extent it will replace yellow-fleshed fruit.

Low-acidity cultivars:  Until recently, practically all California peach and nectarine production was yellow-fleshed fruit with relatively high titratable acidity (TA) (what is often referred-to as ‘classic acidity’).  In the 1990’s, white-fleshed cultivars were planted by California growers for export markets in Asia where consumers prefer low acidity.  With the growth of low-acid white-fleshed fruit in the U.S. marketplace, consumer acceptance of low acidity has grown as well.  Crisosto found in consumer surveys using both acidic and low acidity cultivars, consumer acceptance was significantly related to soluble solids concentration (SSC) or SSC:TA, but a low TA could compensate for a low SSC within a given SSC and TA range.  California breeders have responded to favorable consumer acceptance with rapid development of improved low-acidity cultivars in both white and yellow-fleshed types and growers have aggressively planted the new cultivars in recent years.  During the four year period of 1999-2002, 32% of all peach trees and 52% of all nectarine trees sold were low-acidity types.

The trend to plant low acidity peaches and nectarines in California represents a major change in the industry. The most noteworthy statistic is that over 50% of nectarine trees planted in recent years were low-acidity cultivars (see graph below).  White-fleshed low-acidity types are differentiated from yellow-fleshed cultivars by the industry and the growth of this product should not cause confusion with consumers.  Yellow-fleshed low-acidity cultivars however are not differentiated from those with traditional acidity by the industry, and are sold together, sometimes in the same bin at the retail level.  Since 22% of nectarine trees and 13% of peach trees planted recently were yellow-fleshed low-acidity types, it is clear that this trend is growing and will affect consumer perception of peaches and nectarines.

(view entire article, pdf format):

July in the Northern Hemisphere is often a month of excess in the fruit industry. The over-planting of public varieties has fueled over-production and put added pressure on already depressed mid-season prices. "We are always looking for and striving to develop something unique, a new cultivar or line of cultivars that set us and our licensees apart from commodity producers,” Sun World’s David Marguleas noted. “Sun World typically focuses on the early and late 'shoulders' of the season but we’re also always attune to fruit characteristics that raise the bar of competition. Our unique approach to an international, managed production system ensures that Sun World’s varieties will not be over-planted and that demand for them will remain keen throughout the year.”

Color in the Heat

The Sun World Table Grape Breeding Program is evaluating several new red table grape cultivars that color well in areas with high summertime temperatures without the use of ethylene generating chemicals.  Sugranineteen, featured in the December, 2003 Newsletter has proven to be superior to Crimson in the hot southern San Joaquin Valley.  Additionally, the new early selection pictured on the right ripens slightly earlier than Flame Seedless with larger berry size and the ability to attain full red color in regions where Flame struggles to get color. See more in Seasonal Shots for Weeks 26-27

BLACK DIAMOND® Plums

Suplumeleven (pictured on the right), the original BLACK  DIAMOND plum, is known worldwide as a superior-eating plum. Today Sun World has expanded the BLACK DIAMOND brand into a series of cultivars ripening at about 10-day intervals starting in Red Beaut season. We are also evaluating several late-season BLACK DIAMOND candidates  that will soon make it possible to span the entire season with a single Branded product. See Seasonal Shots for Weeks 28-29 for more about late-season BLACK DIAMOND candidates.

MIDNIGHT BEAUTY® 

MIDNIGHT BEAUTY (Sugrathirteen) harvest started this year in mid-May  in California's  Coachella Valley, continued in the southern San Joaquin Valley in the first week of July, and harvest started in the Bakersfield area in mid-July and will continue into early August. "From beginning to end, there's really nothing that can beat MIDNIGHT BEAUTY for production and size", remarked Sun World's Mike Aiton. "We are very happy with it and buyers are eager each year to receive it".

This year production is expected to be in the range of 1300-1400 cartons per acre (26,228-28,245 kg/ha) according to Sun World manager Cruz Pulido. For more information about the 2004 MIDNIGHT BEAUTY harvest in the Bakersfield area, go to Seasonal Shots for Weeks 26-27. 

Color and Flavor

In the mid-season, Sun World's stone fruit breeding program is evaluating a rainbow of colored plums with incredible, often surprising, flavors.  "By mid-season people are ready for some variety," noted Sun World stone fruit breeder, Terry Bacon. "and great flavor is a requirement, not a luxury".  This year Bacon is testing new red, yellow, green, black, and bronze colored plums with  sugars in the 24-30-brix range, and some with surprising aromas. "We have a variety of aromas, from tropical, to one that has an apple-like texture and aroma" Bacon remarked.