"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.
01 Aug 2023
The purpose of the study conducted by researchers at the Black Sea Agricultural Research Institute was to examine the impact of different concentrations of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) on the rooting process of softwood cuttings from potential rootstock candidates
09 May 2023
Internationally known for the apricot varieties marketed under the COT brand name, the French company has been directing its interests in cherry varietal innovation for a few years now, leading to its own genetic improvement programme in 2012.
29 Dec 2025
Sour cherry powder is a superfood rich in antioxidants, beneficial for sleep, muscles and inflammation. In this article, we discover how it is obtained, how it is used, how it differs from juice and why it is gaining a central role in modern healthy diets.
26 Dec 2025
In 2024, cherry consumption in the European Union reached 629,000 tonnes, marking a +4.5% increase on an annual basis and reaching its highest level in ten years. Production, imports and exports are also growing, with Italy and Spain among the leading countries.
