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Click to EnlargeSierra Gem
2015 Musser Fruit Research Farm

Season Coronet Season
Range June 15th - 21th
Additional Years 2012 | 2014 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2020
Sequence 0
Row
Tree
Flesh Yellow
Chill Hours
Bloom Date March 20th
Ripe Date June 15th

Set
Size
Shape
Pubes
Red
Attribute
Firm
Free
Status
Brix
3
3.02
Rounded to slightly ovate
2
90
5
4.5
1
1
11.5

Notes

Attractive fruit with nice and uniform red blush. Split pits. Good taste (SSC/TA 12.11)

Description

Sierra Gem belongs to The Burchell Nursery, Inc., Oakdale, CA (Patent No. 10,810, issued March 2, 1999). The `Sierra Gem` peach tree is characterized as to novelty by producing a freestone fruit which has an attractive orange to reddish blush, and a noteworthy yellow skin coloration with a distinctively attractive yellow-orange stripe in the suture region. Further, the fruit produced by the `Sierra Gem` peach tree is ripe for commercial harvesting and shipment approximately June 12 to June 16 under the environmental conditions existing in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. The new and novel variety of peach tree is perhaps most closely similar to its parent `Fancy Lady`, (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,023), but is distinguishable therefrom and characterized principally as to novelty by producing a high quality, fresh market, freestone, yellow fleshed peach of medium size and which ripens during the second week of June and which additionally possesses a high degree of color with a distinctive yellow-orange stripe in the suture region. In further contrast with the fruit of the `Fancy Lady` peach tree, (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,023), the new variety produces fruit which are equal to or slightly larger in size than that produced by `Fancy Lady` peach tree and has a considerably richer flavor than the fruit produced by the `Fancy Lady` peach tree. In addition to the foregoing, the exterior appearance of the new variety and the parent `Fancy Lady` vary substantially. For example, the exterior appearance of the fruit produced by the `Fancy Lady` peach tree is characteristic of most yellow-freestone peach varieties grown in California, that is, it has a mostly orange skin coloration and occasionally, some amount of reddish blush may appear on the skin of the fruit which has been exposed to direct sunlight. In contrast, the new variety of peach has increased amounts of red coloration (blush). Still further, the new variety has, as earlier noted, a distinctive yellow- orange color in the suture.

Key

  • Evaluations are based on a 1-8 scale (6=OK,7=Commercially acceptable, 8=Excellent)
  • Size is in inches
  • Shape: round is assumed, T=tip, P=point, S=suture, OB=oblate, OV=ovate
  • Pubescence: 10=nectarine
  • Blush: presented as percentage of ground color cover with red or similar
  • Freeness: 3=early cling, 8=completely free
  • Status: 0=discard, 1=keep
  • Notes: SOS=soft on suture, SOT=soft on tip, RIF=red in flesh, GAS=green around stem
  • RAP=red around pit, GGC=green ground color, sz=size, wh=white, yt=young tree, CCT=concave tip
  • Bloom date is when approx. 90% of blooms are open (full bloom)

The description of each variety of peach or nectarine fruit under each group is in different formats as this information is collected from varied sources and hence is not consistent

 

     
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