"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.
25 Apr 2024
‘We had the first harvest on 13 April and today is the third,’ says Ilyas Coşkuner, a local producer. ‘We are optimistic about both the yield and market prices. The 30 kg of cherries belonging to İlyas Coşkuner were bought at the symbolic price of 500 lira per kg.
10 Apr 2024
Burro units are fully electrified, allowing to greatly enhance sustainable footprint in operations, with estimated reduction in carbon emissions of up to 80,000kg’s of C02e annually, and 70% reduction in running costs per 40-hectares block of cherries.
24 Aug 2026
Cherry quality is determined long before harvest. Fruit development, cell number, cuticle, firmness, water status, sugars, pigmentation and ripening interact throughout growth to define fruit size, final quality and the postharvest performance of sweet cherries.
24 Aug 2026
Organo-mineral fertilization in mountain cherry orchards improves soil fertility, increases nutrient efficiency and reduces field operations. This strategy can lower production costs, support cherry quality and promote greater long-term profitability for growers.
