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But what are the main qualities new varieties need to have? "Consumers buy using their eyes, so the produce must appeal to them. The main factor though is grade: recent tests showed that over 2,000 consumers preferred bigger cherries. Which is good even for producers, because sale prices are proportional to the dimension of the fruit."
"Other important characteristics are the compactness of the flesh and organoleptic qualities (sugar and organic acid). Then there is shelf-life, generally associated with a good compactness and which can be increased with modern storing techniques."
Sweet Saretta®
"At the University of Bologna, we have been experimenting with new cultivars since the late 1980s, which in Italy corresponded to a period of varietal renovation thanks to the arrival of new foreign varieties, mainly from Canada."
"The new varieties became popular in just a few years, also because they were very productive and had bigger grades. There were the Italian Giorgia and the Canadia Celeste, Lapins and Sweethart, which became the reference varieties together with the historical Burlat and Ferrovia."
"Then, in the 1990s, there were even more varieties thanks to breeding like Grace Star. We at the University are still studying to find cultivars for the very early and very late periods."
Marysa™
"The first successes for the University of Bologna came in the late 1990s with the seven Star varieties. Recently, the new Sweet® series was discovered, of which there are five varieties (Aryana, Lorenz, Gabriel, Valina and Saretta). Soon, the new Stephany variety will be added to the list."
"Then, in the 1990s, there were even more varieties thanks to breeding like Grace Star. We at the University are still studying to find cultivars for the very early and very late periods."
Marysa™
"The first successes for the University of Bologna came in the late 1990s with the seven Star varieties. Recently, the new Sweet® series was discovered, of which there are five varieties (Aryana, Lorenz, Gabriel, Valina and Saretta). Soon, the new Stephany variety will be added to the list."
"They all have excellent agronomic performances, aesthetic characteristics and organoleptic qualities. Important nursery gardens acquired exclusive sale rights in Italy (Top Plant Vivai, Salvi Vivai, Vivai Fortunato, Vivai Giannoccaro and Vivai Spinelli), Greece (Vitro Hellas), Spain (Segri-Plant) and Belgium (Fruit tree nursery Renè Nicolai). In addition, other agreements are currently being discussed in other EU and extra-EU countries."
"The Marysa variety was also introduced, although it is not part of the Sweet series because of its acidity at harvesting, but it does have excellent agronomic performances and good quality. In 2015 it will be sold by Top Plant Vivai, Salvi Vivai, Vivai Fortunato and Vivai Spinelli, which have exclusive multiplication rights".
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Contacts:
Dr. Stefano Lugli
Agricultural Sciences Department
Tree cultivation section
Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna
Viale Giuseppe Fanin, 46
40127 Bologna (Italy)
Tel.: +39 051 2096413
Fax: +39 051 2096401
Cell.: +39 335 1798877
Skype: stefanolugli.unibo
Web: www.ciliegio.unibo.it
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