JULY 1975 CIRCULAR 218 fqn Excell Icn: AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION AUBURN R. Dennis Rouse, Director UNIVERSITY Auburn, Alabama TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION______--------- - - -- - -- - -- - - -- - - - -- - -- - - FRUIT QUALITY -------------- Y IE LD -- --- ------------- --- ------ -- -- -- 6 -- -- S T OR AGE --- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 DISEASE RESISTANCE----------------------------------------------- 6 AVAILABILITY OF TREES ---------------------------- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS---------- ---------------------------------- -- Auburn University is an equal opportunity employer FIRST PRINTING 3M, JULY 1975 [2] HOMESIDE: An Excellent Quality Plum For Home And Roadside Market J. D. NORTON* INTRODUCTION HOMESIDE Is a new plum variety developed by the Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station for growing in central and south Alabama, where sufficient chilling of 700 hours of temperature below 45°F occurs. This variety has proven its ability to produce good yields of high quality fruit where certain fruit and disease problems occur. Homeside was selected from a cross between Methley and Ozark Premier varieties. It has resistance or tolerance to Black Knot, Bacterial Canker, Bacterial Fruit Spot, and Bacterial Leaf Spot, prevalent diseases of plum. Such resistance is particularly important in the Southeast where prevalence of these diseases and susceptibility of commercial varieties has discouraged plum production. It received resistance to bacterial and fungal diseases from Ozark Premier. Excellent fruit quality was inherited from both parents. Trees of Homeside are vigorous, spreading with medium green foliage. FRUIT QUALITY Fruit of Homeside have an orange to light red skin and cream flesh. Homeside is a very large plum, usually the fruit is 21/4 to 21/2 inches in diameter. The excellent fruit quality makes Homeside well-suited for home and roadside markets, but fruit has inadequate firmness for handling in storage, packing, and shipping to chain stores and distant markets (Table 1). Skin color development is not as intense as Crimson, Methley, Purple, and Santa Rosa. Maturity date is approximately the same as Santa Rosa (Table 2). The plant is self-fruitful. * Professor, Department of Horticulture. [3] TABLE 1. Variety Bruce Crimson n FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS OF PLUM VARIETIES Fruit set 51 Flesh color Skin color ~1h. Size Shape 51 Flavor 31 Firmness 31 freeness TxueSoluble Txue solids 31 5 5 Methley Homeside F u (Methley A-39) Ozark Premier Purple Santa Rosa 1 Rating index: 5 dark red to purple 5 orange to light red 5 cream red to purple cream dark red to purple 4 red dark red to purple excellent, 4 good, 3 - fair, 2 orange to red crimson red dark red cream orange to red crimson red cling cling cling cling free semi cling cling 9.4 1l13/4 5 5 21 4 -21/2 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 16.3 18.5 18.8 15.7 14.8 16.7 5 5 (5 13 /-2 11/4-11/2 -r 5 5 = i = poor, and 1 very poor. 2 TABLE 2. BLOOM AND HARVEST DATES AND YIELD OF PLUM VARIETIES, 1965-1974 Fairhope Headland Auburn Camp Hill Clanton Cullman Variety Bruce?----------- BomHr destBos daedt datevstYild il il'Bomvs aedt 2 5 5 3 HlomvstYel-lomHaril'BomHar- YedBomHar- YedBomHar- Yed Yild Blodates Bldatodtevest lo etYield aedate date date date date date __ date 3-22 6-26 Yield 3 rn Crimson---------'nHomeside C (Methley A-39)__. Metbley'---------Ozark Premier---Purple -- ------ -Santa Rosa 4 ------- 'YTrees index: lived due to ringvery low, 2 ield short 0 0, 1 spot virus. - -3-22 .-3-22 3-20 -3-24 -3-24 3-20 6-29 7-14 7-5 3-17 3-20 3-18 7-5 7-20 3 5 4 3 3-17 3-19 7-3 7-18 3 5 3-16 3-19 7-7 7-18 3 3 3 ~ 1 1 2 1 1 3-22 3-20 3-24 3-23 5-7 7-1 6-7 7-5 5 5 4 6-10 3-20 7-12 6-16 3-10 3-20 7-10 6-14 5 3 3-16 3-17 7-14 6-18 1 2 _3-20 7-10 7-20 7-5 = 4 5 3 3-18 3-22 3-21 = 7-18 7-23 7-9 4 5 3 3-18 3-23 3-22 - 7-15 7-22 7-8 4 5 3 3-15 3-20 3-19 7-15 7-25 7-11 3 3 1 1 3-28 3-26 7-15 7-1 5 5 4 2 low, 3= fair, 4 good, and 5= excellent. 2 3 Trees short lived due to black knot and bacterial canker. 4Trees short lived due to bacterial canker. sBloom and harvest dates were too erratic to record. YIELD The variety has been in trials as Methley A-39 at several locations in the Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station System and in grower trials. It compares favorably with other varieties in yield. Production has been highest in central and southeast Alabama (Table 2). Reduced yields in north Alabama have been due to flower bud kill from frosts and/or freezes. Southeast Alabama, the Headland-Dothan area, is relatively frost free during the bloom period; therefore, the plum crop is usually free from late frost and freezing damage. Thus, it should fill the need for a midseason variety for production for home and local market in these areas of the State. STORAGE Fruit of Homeside plum stores as well as Methley and Ozark Premier varieties. However, fruit of Homeside plum does not retain market quality as long as Crimson, Purple, and Santa Rosa varieties (Table 3). DISEASE RESISTANCE Homeside compares favorably with varieties currently being grown in home and roadside plantings. It is more resistant to bacterial fruit spot, bacterial leaf spot, and bacterial canker than Methley and Santa Rosa. However, it is less resistant to these diseases than Bruce, Crimson, and Purple (tables 4 and 5). AVAILABILITY OF TREES Trees of Homeside should be available for planting in the winter of 1975-1976. PLUM FRUIT AT 350 TABLE 3. MARKETABLE F STORAGE Variety 3 Pct. 6 Pct. 5 90 70 65 65 Weeks of storage 9 Pct. 0 65 20 15 15 12 Pct. 0 30 0 0 0 14 Pct. 0 15 0 0 0 Bruce ---------------Crimson . .--...... . ----. ---..... Methley . Homeside (Methley A-39) Ozark Premier 20 100 95 90 90 Purple Santa Rosa 100 100 85 80 55 45 25 20 8 5 [6] TABLE 4. DIsEASE RESISTANCE OF PLUM VARIETIES IN EXPERIMENTAL PLANTINGS AT AUBURN, CAMP HILL, CLANTON, CULLMAN, FAIRHOPE, AND HEADLAND, 1965-1974 Variety B ruce----------------------Crim son --------------------- 0 0 0 0 Methley ---------------------------3 5 5 5 Homeside (Methley A-39). 0 0 12 1 Ozark Premier -----------------0 1 1 1 Purple ----------------------0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa -----------------------5 5 5 0 1 Disease index' Bacterial Bacterial Bacterial Black Spot leaf Spot canker knot 0 0 0 0 Brown rot 4 1 3 Av 0.8 0.2 4.2 3 3 1.0 1.2 3 3 0.6 3.6 41-60, 4 - 61-80, 5 81-100 percent of fruit, leaves, and tree infected with bacterial canker, bacterial fruit spot, bacterial leaf spot, and black knot. Two trees received a numerical rating of 3 at the Chilton Area Horticultural Substation for bacterial canker. Three trees were planted at Camp Hill and Headland. Six were evaluated at Cuilman, and 15 trees were established at Auburn and Clanton. Disease index: 0 = 0, 1 - 1-20, 2 = 21-40, 3 = 2 TABLE 5. DISEASE INDEX' RATINGS FOR BLACK KNOT, BACTERIAL CANKER, BACTERIAL LEAF SPOT AND BACTERIAL FRUIT SPOT OF PLUM VARIETIES IN 5 ALABAMA ORCHARDS, 1974 Entry Number of trees Planted Living Black knot 0.0 4.5 0.0 0.7 0.7 Bacterial Bacterial Bacterial canker leaf spot fruit spot 0.0 5.0 0.0 0.4 1.3 5.0 0.3 5.0 0.0 Av 0.08 4.87 0.00 Crimson ._________ 1,087 1,061 Methley-------------239 275 Purple ------------775 744 Homeside (Methley A-39)_. 278 251 Ozark Premier__. 375 180 Santa Rosa 150 124 0.0 5.0 0.0 'D81-100 isease -------0.0 0.4 2.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 5.0 0.36 0.55 3.75 index: 0 = 0, 1 - 1-20, 2 = 21-40, 3 41-60, 4 60-80, and 5 percent of tree, fruit, and leaves infected with black rot, bacterial canker, bacterial fruit spot, and bacterial leaf spot. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author gratefully acknowledges the essential assistance of H. M. Bryce, Main Station, Auburn, Alabama; C'. C. Carlton and K. C. Short, Chilton Area Horticultural Substation, Clanton, Ala., in evaluation and propagation of the varieties. Valuable assistance was rendered by M. H. Hollingsworth, North Alabama Horticultural Substation, Cullman, Ala.;. E. L. Mayton (retired), W. A. Griffey, and H. E. Burgess, Piedmont Substation; C. A. Brogden (retired), J. C. Starling, and H. W. Ivey, Wiregrass Substation; H. F. Yates (retired ), and J. E. Barrett, Gulf Coast Substation. The assistance of growers in conducting commercial grower trials of the material is deeply appreciated. [7] With an agricultural research unit in every major soil area, Auburn Universitv serves the needs of field crop, livestock, forestry, and horticultural producers in each region in Alabama. Every citizen of the State has a stake in this research program, since any advantage from new and more economical ways of producing and handling farm products directly benefits the consuming public. Research Unit Identification 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. Tennessee Valley Substation, Belle Mina. Sand Mountain Substation, Crossville. North Alabama Horticulture Substation, Cullman. Upper Coastal Plain Substation, Winfield. Forestry Unit, Fayette County. Thorsby Foundation Seed Stocks Farm, Thorsby. Chilton Area Horticulture Substation, Clanton. Forestry Unit, Coosa County. Piedmont Substation, Camp Hill. Plant Breeding Unit, Tallassee. Forestry Unit, Autauga County. Prattville Experiment Field, Prattville. Black Belt Substation, Marion Junction. Tuskegee Experiment Field, Tuskegee. Lower Coastal Plain Substation, Camden. Forestry Unit, Barbour County. Monroeville Experiment Field, Monroeville. Wiregrass Substation, Headland. Brewton Experiment Field, Brewton. Ornamental Horticulture Field Station, Spring Hill. Gulf Coast Substation, Fairhope.