Articles
Fruit cracking tolerant sweet cherries suitable for breeding
Article number
1412_37
Pages
241 – 246
Language
English
Abstract
Sweet cherry thanks to its attractive sweet taste, nutrients and high amounts of physiologically important compounds, it belongs between the most economically important fruit species in the world.
When it comes to fruit quality, cracking tolerance is among the most desirable traits.
Fruit cracking caused by rain is probably the most serious limitation of cherry production in almost all regions.
Cracking occurs during or after rain and usually shortly before harvest.
Generally, if the tree has more than 25% cracked fruit, harvesting becomes uneconomical.
So, there are many reasons for growing naturally resistant cultivars to fruit cracking.
As the demands on fruit quality continue to grow, the role of breeding in the future of the cherry industry is irreplaceable.
An assessment of cracking susceptibility on a fruit sample is often required to compare the tolerance of cultivars for breeding purposes.
The simplest and most realistic way to quantify cracking is to determine the percentage of fruit cracked after rain.
A collection of 226 cherry cultivars was analyzed for tolerance to rain-induced fruit cracking during 9 years of observation.
Meteorological data on precipitation were obtained from meteorological stations located in the fields.
For each year, a time line was created with the amount of precipitation and the percentage rate of fruit cracking in the field.
The data from the evaluation of the occurrence of cracking in the orchards was supplemented with a cracking index, which was calculated on the basis of a soaking test of the harvested fruit in controlled laboratory conditions.
Totally, 38 cultivars were selected, which showed good tolerance to fruit cracking in each year during rainfall.
They are therefore suitable for inclusion in the breeding of new cherry cultivars tolerant to fruit cracking and improved pomological and growing properties.
When it comes to fruit quality, cracking tolerance is among the most desirable traits.
Fruit cracking caused by rain is probably the most serious limitation of cherry production in almost all regions.
Cracking occurs during or after rain and usually shortly before harvest.
Generally, if the tree has more than 25% cracked fruit, harvesting becomes uneconomical.
So, there are many reasons for growing naturally resistant cultivars to fruit cracking.
As the demands on fruit quality continue to grow, the role of breeding in the future of the cherry industry is irreplaceable.
An assessment of cracking susceptibility on a fruit sample is often required to compare the tolerance of cultivars for breeding purposes.
The simplest and most realistic way to quantify cracking is to determine the percentage of fruit cracked after rain.
A collection of 226 cherry cultivars was analyzed for tolerance to rain-induced fruit cracking during 9 years of observation.
Meteorological data on precipitation were obtained from meteorological stations located in the fields.
For each year, a time line was created with the amount of precipitation and the percentage rate of fruit cracking in the field.
The data from the evaluation of the occurrence of cracking in the orchards was supplemented with a cracking index, which was calculated on the basis of a soaking test of the harvested fruit in controlled laboratory conditions.
Totally, 38 cultivars were selected, which showed good tolerance to fruit cracking in each year during rainfall.
They are therefore suitable for inclusion in the breeding of new cherry cultivars tolerant to fruit cracking and improved pomological and growing properties.
Authors
P. Suran
Keywords
genetic resourcess, Prunus avium, tolerance, fruit cracking, cultivar
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