The genetic improvement programme on the cherry tree at the Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI) has an almost century-long tradition. The first activities were started by M. Schmidt in Müncheberg in the 1930s. Later, M. Zwitzscher continued the project at the Max Planck Institut in Cologne by propagating the varieties Primavera and Sekunda, while E.L. Loewel in Jork selected and propagated a dozen varieties, including Regina.
More recently, in Dresden, M. Fischer started a new breeding programme aimed at self-fertility and resistance to bacterial cancer by Pseudomonas spp, leading to the release of the NA series varieties Namosa, Nadina, Namare and Namati.
Since 2001, the project has been in the hands of M. Schuster at the JKI in Pillnitz. The cherry varieties Narana (ripens with Burlat), Swing® PiSue 192* (+8 Burlat), Polka (+10 Burlat), Aria® PiSue 161 (+14 Burlat), Areko (+17 Burlat), PiSue 177 (+19 Burlat) and Habunt, a two-coloured cherry ripens 20 days after Burlat.
Below the report of Mirko Schuster presented at the workshop on cherry variety innovation at Macfrut 2023.
12 Jun 2024
In the town of Orondo, Griggs Farms covers almost 300 hectares of land. Among the varieties of cherries that grow on the farm is the Orondo Ruby, a Washington variety that is sweeter and more acidic than the Rainier and stays fresh longer than the Bing.
06 May 2024
‘In production we find traditional and mechanised processes, but logistics are still mainly manual,’ says Mónica Tierno, general manager of the Valle del Jerte Cooperative Group, ‘although this does not mean that it is slower. Time is against this product’.
21 Feb 2025
A recent study from Greece compared different research to analyse the concentration of phenolic components of the cherry and its by-products, as well as the extraction techniques used.
21 Feb 2025
Pseudomonas bacteriasis and Cytospora fungal infections pose a major threat to the Washington State economy. The bacterial cancer in 2023 mainly affected young orchards, the subject of Prof. Zhao's research.
