'Evmolpiya' - a new Bulgarian peach cultivar resistant to leaf curl disease (Taphrina deformans)

An organized programme of peach breeding in Bulgaria was officially launched in 1989 at the Fruit-Growing Institute in Plovdiv. An important breeding aim is the development of cultivars resistant to economically important diseases such as the peach leaf curl caused by the obligate fungus Taphrina deformans (Fuskel) Tulasne. By interspecific hybridization of the parent cultivars 'Fantasia' x ('J.H. Hale' x Prunus davidiana), the new dessert cultivar 'Evmolpiya' was created and it was officially recognized in Bulgaria in 2009. Fruits of 'Evmolpiya' ripen between September 15-20. They are very large, spherical in shape, slightly asymmetric, and their mean weight is 225 g. Fruit flesh is yellow, tender, juicy, with a balanced sour-sweet taste and a pronounced aroma. 'Evmolpiya' shows complex field resistance to the agents causing the economically most important diseases in peach - leaf curl and powdery mildew. That makes it very suitable for integrated and organic fruit production.