Hey, I’m Desmond Layne, Peach Specialist at Clemson University. Welcome to the Clemson Tiger Peach Network.
Welcome back to “Everything About Peaches”. Today is August 17, 2011 and we’re here at my variety test block at James Cooley’s farm in Chesnee, South Carolina. It’s a beautiful day here in the upstate. If you remember, last week, we featured Early Augustprince which is a late-season, yellow flesh, melting flesh type. Its got that traditional acidic tang to it and it’s also a freestone. This week we’re featuring the next in succession after Early Augustprince and its called Augustprince.
In our Clemson University research trials over the last several years, the performance of Augustprince has been excellent. Augustprince was developed by the United States Department of Agriculture in Byron, Georgia. The breeder was Dr. Dick Okie — a good friend of mine. Augustprince typically ripens 3-7 days later than its sibling, Early Augustprince, which puts it in about the second to the third week of August here in the tastier peach state. You’ve got that right, South Carolina!
Augustprince is a yellow fleshed, melting flesh type and its also a freestone. It has that traditional acidic tang that we associate with a Southern peach. Because it was publicly released in 2006, you can freely propagate it.
Augustprince is a consistently large peach averaging between 3 — 3 ¼ inches in diameter. It has a very nice, uniform round shape. Its got a nice yellow background color and red overcolor or blush that gives it a really attractive appearance. When you cut through the skin into the flesh, you can see that its got beautiful yellow flesh. Look at that! Sometimes around the pit there may be some red pigmentation. Those are anthocyanin pigments which are antioxidants and they are a health benefit for you.
If you remember last week, we tasted Early Augustprince. This week, we’re featuring its sister, Augustprince. Let’s see how this one tastes! Mmmmm. Look at the juice! Sweet, juicy, tangy! I’ll tell you what, that’s what you’re looking for in a traditional Southern peach as we say down here in South Carolina.
Why don’t you join us next week when we’ll feature our next “Peach Pick for South Carolina” where the peaches don’t taste like the box they came in. They taste GOOD! Mmmmm. You know, being a peach specialist in South Carolina is a rough job … wait, hold on a second here.
Interrupted for conversation on cell phone… “Desmond Layne speaking. Hey! Melissa Block … wow! I listen to you every afternoon on NPR. You want to talk about peaches? Cool! Let’s do it!”
To get my latest information on peaches, you can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/PeachDoctor. For more educational videos and information about peaches, you can visit my “Everything About Peaches” website at www.clemson.edu/peach. And if you would like to read my columns for the American Fruit Grower magazine, you can visit their website at www.growingproduce.com.
