New Hybrid Nectarine tree - `Western Pride`

This is a new semi-dwarf 'Western Pride' nectarine tree. The inventors from California, typically hybridize a large number of nectarine and peach seedlings each year, ended up with this new and distinct variety of nectarine tree, which has been denominated varietally as 'Western Pride'.
Prunus persica - distinct variety broadly characterized by a large size, vigorous, self-fertile, productive and regular bearing tree. The fruit is uniformly large in size, acidic and sweet in flavor, globose in shape, freegstone in type, firm in texture, mostly red in skin color, and mature in mid July. The variety was a first generation cross using an unnamed freestone peach as the selected seed parent and `August Red` (U.S. Plant Pat. No.6,363) nectarine as the selected pollen parent.

A new and distinct variety of nectarine tree, substantially as illustrated and described, that is most similar to the `Summer Bright` nectarine, (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,049), byproducing yellow flesh nectarines that mature in the latter part of July, that have sweet acidic flavor, and that are mostly red in skin color, but is distinguished therefrom and an improvement thereon by requiring higher chilling, by blooming later, and by producing fruit that matures about 5 days later, is larger in size, and is freestone instead of clingstone.

Tree Size: Large, reaching a height of 12' [3.66 meters] on a 4th leaf graft on Nemaguard rootstock utilizing typical dorman pruning.

Vigor: Vigorous, responding typically to irrigation and fertilization.

Growth: Upright and dense.

Form: Vase formed.

Fertility: Self-fertile.

Production: Very productive, thinning necessary.

Bearing: Regular bearer, with no alternate bearing yet observed.