"The super millionaire fruits of the Alma Mater": this is how Corriere della Sera headlined years ago when announcing the results obtained by researchers from the Department of Agri-food Sciences and Technologies of the University of Bologna on the cherry tree genetic improvement project: the seven Sweet® sisters, the new varieties named after the children or loved ones of their inventors.
A team led by Stefano Lugli who, starting from old indigenous varieties, the famous Duroni di Vignola, bearers of valuable traits such as sweetness, texture and aroma, has been able to combine these virtues with others, such as beauty, size and productivity, taking them from varieties of American origin.
Below, the report by Bettina Riedel, variety manager of UNIBO, presented at the seminar on cherry variety innovation at Macfrut 2023. Precisely at Macfrut, ten years ago, the Sweet® varieties made their debut winning, among others, the Oscar prize for innovation.
12 Sep 2023
The new Chilean cherry season could increase by 20 percent, which would depend not only on climatic and logistical factors but also on the continued diversification of domestic and international ports handling fresh fruit exports. An effort by the entire supply chain will be need
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.
25 Dec 2025
La Junta de Extremadura ha distribuito 904.540 euro nel secondo pagamento dell’aiuto straordinario 2024 per i cerasicoltori colpiti dal maltempo. La misura, parte del Decreto Legge 3/2025, prevede un’ultima tranche da un milione di euro in arrivo nei prossimi giorni.
24 Dec 2025
Jessica Rodríguez analyses the problems of rot in Chilean cherries exported to China in 2024/25, highlighting causes, impacts and solutions adopted. The report highlights critical issues in post-harvest management, sanitisation and product storage.
