NEW SWEET CHERRY SELECTIONS FOR TESTING FROM THE PACIFIC AGRI-FOOD RESEARCH CENTRE, SUMMERLAND, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Summerland has had a sweet cherry breeding program since 1936 and has introduced varieties that have made an impact in our local industry.
These include: ‘Van’, ‘Lapins’ and ‘Sweetheart’. Most recently, ‘Staccato’ was introduced as a late maturing cultivar and growers are planting this variety because of its good fruit quality and late harvest date.
Thirteen new selections have been advanced into the next level of testing where they will be made available for grower testing.
These will be described and briefly compared to standard cultivars.
Harvest dates at Summerland, British Columbia for these selections range from 27 June to 26 July.
The long-term average harvest dates at Summerland for ‘Bing’ and ‘Van’ are 8 and 9 July, respectively.
These dates are for cherries that have not been treated with gibberellic acid.
Average fruit weights range from 9.9 to 13.8 g.
Average cracking rates (rain-induced cracking) vary from 18 to 51%. Most of the selections are as firm as or firmer than standards.

V International Cherry Symposium

F. Kappel, R. MacDonald, D.L. McKenzie, R. Brownlee

Prunus avium, fruit breeding, fruit firmness, total soluble solids concentration, rain-induced cracking

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2008.795.8