PEACH

(species Prunus persica), fruit tree of the rose family (Rosaceae), grown throughout the warmer temperate regions of both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Small to medium-sized, the tree seldom reaches 6.5 m (21 feet) in height. Under cultivation, however, it is usually kept between 3 and 4 m (10 and 13 feet) by pruning. Leaves are glossy green, lance-shaped, and long pointed; they usually have glands at their bases that secrete a fluid to attract ants and other insects. The flowers, borne in the leaf axils, are arranged singly or in groups of two or three at nodes along the shoots of the previous season's growth. The five petals, usually pink but occasionally white, five sepals, and three whorls of stamens are borne on the outer rim of the short tube that forms the base of the flower. The pistil consists of a single carpel with a relatively long style and an enlarged basal portion, the ovary, which becomes the fruit. The peach develops from a single ovary that ripens into a fleshy, juicy exterior, making up the edible part of the fruit, and a hard interior, called the stone or pit. Of the two ovules in the ovary, usually only one becomes fertilized and develops into a seed, which is enclosed within the stone. This frequently results in one half of the fruit being slightly larger than the other, the two halves forming the slight longitudinal cleft typical of drupe fruits. The flesh may be white, yellow, or red. Varieties may be freestone types, which have stones that separate easily from the ripe flesh, or clingstones, which have flesh that adheres firmly to the stone. The skin of most ripe peaches is downy or fuzzy; peaches with smooth skins are called nectarines. The peach is about 87 percent water and has fewer calories than either apples or pears. Yellow-fleshed varieties are especially rich in vitamin A. Peaches are widely eaten fresh as a dessert fruit, often with cream, and they are also baked in pies and cobblers. Canned peaches are a staple commodity in many regions. The peach probably originated in China, then spread westward through Asia to the Mediterranean countries and later to other parts of Europe. The Spanish explorers brought the peach to the New World, and as early as 1600 the fruit was found in Mexico. For centuries the cultivation and selection of new varieties of peaches was largely confined to the gardens of the nobility, and large-scale commercial peach growing did not begin until the 19th century, in the United States. The early plantings were seedling peaches, inevitably variable, and often of poor quality. The practice of budding superior strains onto hardy seedling rootstocks, which came later in the century, led to the development of large commercial orchards. Peach trees are intolerant of severe cold and cannot be grown successfully where temperatures normally fall to -23 to -26 C (-10 to -15 F). On the other hand, they do not grow satisfactorily where the winters are too mild, and most varieties require some winter chilling to induce them to burst into growth after the annual dormant period. The peach does well on various soil types but in general it grows best on well-drained sandy or gravelly loams. On most soils the peach responds well to nitrogen-rich fertilizers or manures, without which satisfactory growth cannot be obtained. Trees are usually pruned annually to prevent them from becoming too tall; the upright shoots are pruned back to outgrowing laterals to produce a spreading tree and keep it open to sunlight. Most peach varieties produce more fruits than can be maintained and developed to full size. Some shedding of fruitlets takes place naturally, about a month to six weeks after full bloom, but the number remaining may have to be reduced further by hand thinning. Peach trees are relatively short-lived as compared with some other fruit trees. In some regions orchards are replanted after 8 to 10 years, while in others trees may produce satisfactorily for 20 to 25 years or more, depending upon their resistance to diseases, pests, and winter damage. Thousands of varieties of the peach have been developed. Yellow-fleshed varieties such as Elberta, Redhaven, and Halford are preferred in North America, while both yellow- and white-fleshed types are popular in Europe. Worldwide, the peach is the third most important of the deciduous-tree fruits, ranking after the apple and the pear. The United States, where the peach ranks second to the apple, produces about a fifth of the world's supply. Italy is second, with about one-sixth the world supply. France, China, Spain, Greece, Argentina, Japan, Turkey, Mexico, South Africa, and Australia also produce substantial crops.