EVALUATION OF SOME NATIVE SWEET CHERRY GENOTYPES COLLECTED EX SITU INTO ROMANIAN NATIONAL GERMPLASM

The Romanian territory is located within the extended geographical boundaries of genetic center of origin for sweet cherry, which grows wild, in stands, or dispersed in mixed deciduous woods, having high genetic diversity, all over the country.
In the past, cherry has been propagated to a large extent by seeds, resulting in a wide range of variability.
Subsequently, by selection and clonal propagation of valuable individuals within seedling populations from different growing areas, many local cultivars were selected.
Additionally, as a result of breeding programs that stared more than 50 years ago, 31 new varieties were released.
Some of them are preserved in cherry collections, which include 364 sweet cherry (from which 105 are autochthonous biotypes, old and new cultivars) accessions held in duplicate in two different locations.
To give new opportunities for conservation of cherry biodiversity and sustainable use of genetic resources, 105 native genotypes have been evaluated for some morphological and biological characteristics as well as agronomic traits like fruit use, plant use, date of full blooming, harvest maturity, fruit shape, fruit size, fruit skin color, juice color, fruit cracking susceptibility, susceptibility to Blumeriella jaapii and Monilia laxa, according to the numerical scale of IBPGR descriptors.

XII EUCARPIA Symposium on Fruit Breeding and Genetics

S. Budan, L. Petre, G. Gradinariu

Romania, Prunus avium, evaluation, native germplasm

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2009.814.19