The systematic Sweet Cherry Breeding in Germany dates to the first work of R. Nebel and C.F. Rudloff in Müncheberg in 1928. After the Second World War, this work was continued by M. Schmidt in Müncheberg until 1955.
In 1953 E.L. Loewel, E.v. Vahl and F.-G. Zahn started a new breeding program in Jork. As a result, the cultivars 'Alma', 'Annabella', 'Bianca', 'Erika', 'Oktavia', 'Regina', 'Valeska', and 'Viola' were selected. From 1985 to 1999 the program was continued by H. Schmidt in Ahrensburg.
A second breeding programme was started in Naumburg by H. Mihatsch and M. Fischer in 1958 and continued in Dresden-Kauscha from 1971 to 1990. The released cultivars from this program are 'Namare', 'Namosa', 'Naprumi', 'Namati', and 'Nadino'. After both breeding programs were terminated, the plant material was transferred to Dresden-Pillnitz, where sweet cherry breeding has been continued by M. Schuster since 2001.
Seven new cultivars have already been released: 'Narana', Swing® 'PiSue 192', 'Habunt', 'Areko', 'Polka', Aria® 'PiSue 161', and 'PiSue 177'. Nineteen new promising breeding clones are currently under multi-site testing and approximately 100 clones are in stage II evaluation. The main breeding objectives are fruit quality, like size, firmness, sugar content, high productivity, self-fertility, and high resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.
Image 1: Ripening time - JKI sweet cherry cultivars in comparison to cultivars 'Burlat', 'Kordia', and 'Regina'.
Mirko Schuster
Institute for Breeding Research on Fruit Crops, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI) – Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, D-01326 Dresden (DE)
12 Sep 2023
Alternaria alternata fungus is a widespread problem known to cause significant contamination and rotting of produce during the post-harvest storage period. Lipopeptides produced by the Y17B strain lead to less development of the disease.
19 Aug 2024
In research funded by the Government of Aragon, a relationship was identified between the rate of cracking and the amount of flavonoids present in the epidermis of the underside of the fruit. As the amount of flavonoids increases, the frequency of cracking also increases.
15 Sep 2025
Flowering, pollination and fruit set are key stages for cherry yield and quality. By applying ethylene inhibitors, cytokinins, pollinator attractants, fungicides and vigor control, growers can improve fruit set, size, firmness and orchard health, ensuring better market results.
15 Sep 2025
The Chilean Cherry Committee launches a strategy in South Korea focused on health, digital promotion and tastings in retail stores. The goal is to surpass the strong competition from local strawberries and win over Korean women consumers aged between 18 and 50 years.
