"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.
27 Nov 2023
The main characteristic of this season is that the harvest is about 7-10 days later than usual. This is mainly due to unseasonal weather, with a low temperature range between day and night.
16 Feb 2024
Marketing strategies at a global level to maximise producers' results and enhance the value of cherry production, proposed innovations in the management of modern cherry orchards and currently available defence tools will be analysed.
13 May 2026
A Serbian study on eight sweet cherry genotypes shows how temperature, pollen germination and pollen tube growth affect fertility and fruit set. ‘Lapins’, ‘Canetova’ and ‘G-2’ stand out as more stable, resilient cultivars under changing climate trends in orchards.
13 May 2026
Chile’s cherry industry is facing increasing financial pressure after seasons marked by oversupply, lower returns and strong reliance on China. Legal, contractual and corporate risks are now growing across the export chain, affecting growers, exporters and trade stability.
