"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.
02 Aug 2024
The study by a California team investigated potential infection points in five cerasites located in three different areas of California to assess the incidence of these pathogens in symptomatic shoots, fruiting darts and wood under pruning wounds.
03 Dec 2024
The aim of the study conducted by the post-harvest group of the University Miguel Hernández (Orihuela, Spain) and the Valencian Cooperative Mas de Roc was to find out whether melatonin can be used as a control measure against late frost and cracking.
07 May 2026
The 2026 cherry season in the Pacific Northwest starts with forecasts between 19.5 and 21.5 million boxes. Lower output than the 2025 record, an early harvest and closer coordination with California define a key phase for the USA cherry market trends.
07 May 2026
In Turkey, research from Firat University shows how computer vision, deep learning and machine learning can classify cherry ripening stages with accuracy above 95%, helping improve harvest timing, fruit quality and production chain management in orchards.
