Stone Fruits

Ali Sarkhosh, Dustin Huff, Trequan McGee, andJuanita Popenoe

After the harvest season in any peach orchard, large or small, while daily picking may have ceased, the focus quickly shifts to how to manage the trees to support the subsequent year's crop. The strong apical dominance of peach trees will cause them to continuously put energy into upward growth, which ultimately shades out and hinders the development of fruiting wood in the lower portion of the canopy.

Ali Sarkhosh, Mercy Olmstead, Mercy A. Olmstead, Jose X. Chaparro, Peter C. Andersen, andJeffrey G. Williamson

Ali Sarkhosh, Mercy Olmstead, Jose Chaparro, and Thomas Beckman

Ariel Singerman, Marina Burani-Arouca, and Mercy Olmstead

Ali Sarkhosh, Mercy Olmstead, Jeff Williamson, Jose Chaparro, and Juanita Popenoe

Ali Sarkhosh, Mercy Olmstead, Mercy A. Olmstead, E. P. Miller, Peter C. Andersen, andJeffrey G. Williamson

Yuru Chang, Ali Sarkhosh, Jeffrey Brecht, and Peter Andersen

Ali Sarkhosh and James Ferguson

Jeffrey K. Brecht, Mark A. Ritenour, Mercy Olmstead, Mercy A. Olmstead, Ali Sarkhosh, Jose X. Chaparro, Jerry A. Bartz, Steven Sargent, andJohn J. Vansickle

Stonefruits grown commercially in Florida include peaches, nectarines, and plums. This publication is directed to current and potential stonefruit growers, handlers, and marketers, as well as researchers, Extension agents, students, and consumers. It provides information about the Florida stonefruit industry, stonefruit cultivars that are suitable for Florida, stonefruit postharvest physiology and pathology, fruit quality, and recommended postharvest handling and marketing practices.

Jonathan Clavijo-Herrera and Ali Sarkhosh

Proper foliage management is a key factor in having a healthy peach orchard and producing high-quality fruit. However, this is not an easy task for Florida growers. The warm and humid climate throughout Florida’s growing season makes it difficult to keep peach leaf rust and bacterial spot under control, which could cause premature defoliation. On the other hand, leaves tend to stay attached to the tree well into late fall, when they should start senescing and dropping to allow sufficient accumulation of chilling, a process required for buds to break the dormant status and bloom in the next season. Understanding dormancy and preparing trees for this stage is critical in subtropical peach orchards. In this publication, we will discuss peach defoliation practices for peach trees growing under the subtropical climate of Florida to provide information to county and state Extension faculty, growers, and homeowners interested in peach production in Florida.

Joy Rumble, Joy N. Rumble, Kathryn A. Stofer, andKara Harders

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. Published by Nutrition and Food Systems

C. Zambrano-Vaca, L. Zotarelli, K. Migliaccio, R. Beeson Jr., K. Morgan, J. Chaparro, and M. Olmstead

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. Published by Agriculture Water

Donald W. Dickson, Mary Ann D. Maquilan, andAli Sarkhosh

One of the production issues that peach growers in Florida must contend with is plant-parasitic nematodes. This publication will focus on the peach root-knot nematode, Meloidogynefloridensis.

Jonathan Clavijo-Herrera, Ali Sarkhosh, Lincoln Zotarelli, Cheryl Mackowiak, andRao Mylavarapu

Timely and informed fertilization practices in peach production are essential to obtain high yields, optimal fruit quality, and secure long-term orchard health and productivity. Recognizing nutrient deficiency symptoms can help identify which nutrients a plant may be lacking, but a solid nutrient management program should regularly test soil and foliar samples to detect issues before symptoms appear. This publication provides suggested nutrient sufficiency ranges for peach trees, along with practical guidelines for identifying nutrient deficiency symptoms and conducting soil and foliar sampling in the orchard. Its goal is to support county Extension agents and faculty, growers, and homeowners with general and practical guidelines for optimizing nutrient management in peach orchards.

Jonathan Clavijo-Herrera, Ali Sarkhosh, Lincoln Zotarelli, Cheryl Mackowiak, andRao Mylavarapu

Appropriate fertilization of perennial fruit tree species is critical to ensure vegetative and reproductive growth, as these processes demand considerable amounts of resources. Adequate fertilization management practices at all stages of peach development are essential to obtain high yields and optimal fruit quality, as well as to ensure healthy vegetative growth that supports the crop for the following year. Fertilization practices are also important economically since they represent an important portion of the costs associated with peach production. Improper fertilization can have negative agronomic and environmental consequences. This publication discusses and suggests general fertilization management practices for peach trees growing under the subtropical climate of Florida to provide information to county and state Extension faculty, growers, and homeowners interested in peach production in Florida.

Charles Barrett, Lincoln Zotarelli, Carlos Zambrano-Vaca, Charles Barrett, Vivek Sharma, Juanita Popenoe, Ali Sarkhosh, Richard Beeson, Richard Beeson, Kelly T. Morgan, Kati W. Migliaccio, andJose X. Chaparro

This publication provides a practical guideline for irrigation of young (1–3 years old) and adult (>3 years old) peach trees cultivated in Florida.