The first experiences with cherry breeding at the VSUO in Holouvosy in the Czech Republic date back to the late 1960s. The main variety selected from this programme is Kordia, which in recent years has become one of the world's leading varieties in the medium-late ripening period, mainly due to its high fruit quality standards.
The primary objectives of the WSUO programme are cherry quality (size, texture and colour), resistance to cracking and rot, shelf life and plant productivity. MAS technologies are used in the breeding programme for the early selection of genotypes on several traits: self-fertility, spring frost resistance, drought and climate change tolerance and low chilling requirements.
WSUO, besides Kordia, has commercially propagated 28 cherry varieties. The best known are Early Korvik, Christiana, Felicita, Irena, Justyna, Kasandra, Tamara, Techlovan, Tim and Vanda.
Below is the report of Lubor Zelený, cherry breeding project manager at WSUO in Holouvosy, presented at the workshop on cherry variety innovation at Macfrut 2023.
19 Dec 2023
The relevance of the cherry for the brown bear lies in the fact that it is the first fleshy fruit to ripen at the start of the hyperphagia period, when the availability of other fruits is limited, and its relevance as a resource for the bear has increased in recent times.
06 Sep 2024
The aim of the study conducted at Qinghai University (China) was to test whether seaweed-based biostimulants have the ability to counteract delayed fruit ripening and improve the antioxidant properties and quality of cherries treated with gibberellic acid.
22 Jul 2025
Un nuovo bollettino INIA aiuta i produttori di ciliegie della regione di Ñuble a migliorare qualità e conservazione lungo la filiera, fino all’export nei mercati asiatici. Un’opportunità concreta per affrontare la crescita e le sfide dell’export cileno 2024–2025.
22 Jul 2025
A Chinese study compares YLL-TS and SSS-TS cherry tree systems, focusing on photosynthetic efficiency, fruit quality, and yield. The innovative YLL-TS system shows remarkable performance, proving suitable for high-efficiency, intensive sweet cherry farming.
