FIELD-SCREENING PRUNUS FOR LONGEVITY IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED-STATES

Long-term field trials of a wide range of peach [Prunus persica (L.) B atsch] germplasm on two peach tree short-life (PTSL) sites revealed ma rked differences in survival among lines. Generally, cuttings and seed lings of a given line performed similarly, as did ungrafted seedlings and their counterparts grafted to a commercial cultivar. No apparent r elationship existed between a line's chilling requirement and survival . B594520-9 survived best in Georgia and South Carolina, providing sig nificantly greater longevity than Lovell, the standard rootstock for u se on PTSL sites. B594520-9 is derived from root-knot-nematode-resista nt parentage, and progeny of surviving seedlings have demonstrated roo t-knot resistance similar to Nemaguard seedlings.