'Everything About Peaches' is on YouTube


Published: August 2, 2010

CLEMSON — Everything you want to know about peaches is as close as YouTube, thanks to enterprising Clemson scientists.

Desmond Layne, Clemson Extension tree fruit specialist, spearheaded the project to produce a series of short videos called “Everything About Peaches.”

The team includes Clemson Extension agent Andy Rollins and Layne’s three sons. They have scripted, produced and starred in five videos ranging from less than five minutes to almost 10 minutes.

Their purpose is to provide information that is useful for commercial producers, backyard growers and consumers. The videos already have generated more than 3,000 hits on YouTube and feedback from across the globe.   

An unexpected result of their efforts was from a viewer in Afghanistan who asked that the information be translated so the videos could be used to teach horticulture techniques to Afghani farmers.

The videos were shot at Clemson University’s Musser Fruit Farm and at J.E. Cooley Farms in Chesnee.

The team plans to continue producing videos throughout the growing season. Topics in the ongoing series include:

• How to pick the best peach
• How to determine peach ripeness
• Clemson's peach evaluation program
• Different kinds of peaches
• The perfect peach

They can all be viewed on the "Everything About Peaches" website: www.clemson.edu/peach/.

The website also includes other resources, including links to columns Layne has written for American Fruit Grower magazine and a textbook he co-authored, "The Peach: Botany, Production and Uses."

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