Heritability of Spring Bloom and Fall Leaf Abscission Dates in Prunus persica

The heritability of fall leaf abscission and spring bloom date were estimated in a peach breeding stock recently infused with genes of divergent evolutionary origin. One of the two recent progenitors of this breeding stock was evergreen. The other had a high chilling requirement. The heritability of full-bloom date in this breeding stock was estimated to be 0.60 ± 0.08 SD, under the assumption of no outcrossing, and 0.67 ± 0.08 s d , under the assumption of 30% random mating. The heritability of the percentage of leaves abscised by 18 Nov. 1988 was estimated to be 0.33 ± 0.08, under the assumption of no outcrossing, and 0.47 ± 0.08, under the assumption of 30% random mating. The heritability of the percentage of leaves abscised, estimated from data collected on 14 Nov. 1989, was 0.49 ± 0.08, under the assumption of no outcrossing, and 0.55 ± 0.08, under the assumption of 30% random mating. The phenotypic correlation between date of full bloom and percentage of leaves abscised in the following November was estimated to be 0.21; 0.18 t (0.05) > 0.21 > 0.26 t (oo.1) . Apparently, these traits readily could be genetically manipulated to circumvent the freeze damage that leads to susceptibility to Cytospora and related disease organisms.