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.
26 Feb 2024
Up to the sixth week, 82,452,392 five-kilo cases of cherries were exported in the 2023/2024 season, and although this figure is lower than the 83,220,842 cases exported in the 2022/2023 season, the figures are predictable after a difficult year for producers.
30 Jun 2026
At CherryTech 2026, Carlos Tapia outlined the future of Chile’s cherry industry: Chile leads global fresh cherry exports, but the next challenge is to increase productivity, fruit quality, climate adaptation and technical efficiency to protect its global leadership.
02 Jul 2026
Chile’s cherry industry faces a decisive phase: softer exports, heavy dependence on China, more digital consumers and rising technical pressures demand sharper strategies to protect profitability, fruit quality and global leadership in fresh produce markets worldwide.
02 Jul 2026
British Columbia’s Canadian cherry growers expect one of their strongest 2026 harvests in recent years. Larger fruit, higher Brix levels, new varieties and solid export demand strengthen Canada’s position in premium cherry markets across Europe and Asia, too.
