Selección 21 (S-21): the first entirely Chilean variety

'Selección 21' (S-21) cherry variety, the first to be completely of Chilean origin. The name S-21 may seem an unattractive term, but in reality it represents the result of more than 14 years of effort, research and development conducted by the Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA), in collaboration with the Consorcio Biofrutales.

This focused effort took shape within the Programa de Mejoramiento Genético (PMG) del Cerezo, with the aim of creating a high quality cherry variety suited to the needs of the Chilean export industry.

The success of S-21 was sanctioned by the unanimous approval of the INIA's Regional Committee for the Release of New Varieties, a crucial step for the regional and national fruit sector. This represents only the beginning of a process that will lead to the full approval, legal protection and subsequent commercial cultivation of the variety.

From a technical point of view, S-21 was selected in the Coquimbo region, which gives it a natural genetic adaptation to warm temperate conditions. In addition, it was also successfully evaluated in the central-southern part of Chile, expanding cultivation possibilities in regions such as Valparaíso, Metropolitan, O'Higgins and Maule.

After five seasons of evaluation, it proved to be vigorous and presented a semi-erect habit, with constant twig production throughout the year, improving fruit quality both at harvest and post-harvest.

S-21 is a two-colour variety belonging to the Rainier segment, characterised by excellent flavour, large size, a greater inclination towards jumbo and superjumbo sizes, good colour and excellent storage after 30 days of cold storage, which makes it suitable for export to foreign markets.

Read the full article: PortalFrutícola.com

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