

New Plum, Apricot Cross Ideal
for Southern GrowersBy Tara
Weaver-Missick June 13, 2000Agricultural Research Service scientists
have developed and released a new specialty fruit as luscious as its name.
Spring Satin, a cross between a plum and apricot, is now available to
nurseries. ARS horticulturist William R. Okie developed the reddish-black-colored
fruit. Southeastern fruit growers have trouble growing plums and apricots in
that regions climate. This new cultivar is the first plumcot that is well
adapted to the medium-high chill areas of the south. Plumcots developed in
California havent done well in the south. Spring Satin produces beautiful white flowers that bloom in mid March. The
large, high-quality fruit ripen in late May, a time of year when high-quality
fruit is in limited supply. When fully ripe, these fruits have a very good
flavor. The short fuzz plumcot is about two inches in diameter. This vibrant beauty
has yellow flesh when immature, changing to a yellowish-red when mature. This unique cross is tolerant to major plum diseases, like bacterial spot
disease, bacterial canker disease, and plum leaf scald. These diseases
make commercial production difficult due to the limited life span of the
orchard. Spring Satin trees will be available commercially this winter. Limited
amounts of budwood are available from Okie, who is with the ARS
Southeastern
Fruit and Tree Nut Research Laboratory in Byron, Ga. Germplasm from this
release is deposited in the NSRP5/IR-2 Fruit Tree collection at
Washington State University, Prosser, Wash. Consumers will have to wait to try Spring Satin; the trees take about three
years to start producing fruit for large-scale distribution. ARS is the U.S. Department of
Agricultures chief scientific research agency. Scientific contact: William R. Okie, ARS Southeastern Fruit and Tree
Nut Research Laboratory, Byron, Ga.; phone (912) 956-6405, fax (912) 956-2929,
[email protected]. U.S. Department of Agriculture |