Carotiger: A New, Late-season Peach Cultivar for the Southeastern United States

In June, 2012, the late-season peach selection SC82035-13-48 was named and released as 'CaroTiger' by the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station at Clemson University.  The original cross was made by D.W. Cain. It was selected by W.C. Newall, Jr., and long-term evaluation and release preparation was made by D.R. Layne. The pollen parent was MSU57202-002 and the female parent was 'Parade'.  'CaroTiger' requires 800–850 hours chilling to overcome dormancy. It has a nonshowy bloom that appears about 4 days before 'Redhaven' in South Carolina.  The fruit development period in Seneca, SC, is 152 days.  It is commercially harvested a few days after 'Flameprinc'e and a few days before 'Parade' in most years.  It is a suitable replacement for either cultivar or a suitable companion to them in a late-season series.  Fruit are globose with a fairly prominent suture and occasional slight suture bulge. When trees are properly thinned, the average fruit size  exceeds 3 inches in diameter.  At maturity, fruit has a very attractive yellow/orange background with nice red overcolor.  It is not solid red.  Flesh is melting with some red anthocyanin pigmentation near the pit. It is completely freestone.  Fruit does not soften too rapidly and it is suitable for both local and distant marketing.  Fruit has normal acidity, excellent eating quality, and from 11–15 °Brix at maturity. Virus-free scionwood is being multiplied at the Clean Plant Center for Fruit Trees (WSU-Prosser).  Scionwood will be propagated through South Carolina Crop Improvement Association to licensed nurseries.