Agrobiological and consumer assessment of new cherry varieties of Dagestan breeding

Abstract

The development of new varieties of cherries with a combination of economically important traits, along with the high nutritional value of the fruit, is an important trend in breeding research, which renews and expands the variety range of cherries. The agrobiological and consumer properties of seven new varieties of sweet cherries of Dagestan breeding (FSBSI Dagestan breeding experimental station of fruit crops) are presented: Bela, Dagestan red, Bigarro Krainsky, Garnet, Lyubimitsa Korvatskogo, Lezginka and Nike. The research was carried out using conventional methods for a variety research and biochemical methods of analysis. It was determined that the cherry varieties Lyubimitsa Korvatskogo, Pomegranate, White and Nike are highly resistant to spring frosts, with the subfreezing of flowers being less than 18.3%. The fruits of the varieties Nike, Bela, Pomegranate, Lezginka and Lyubimitsa Korvatskogo are the most resistant to dehiscence, since the index of dehiscence during ripening at high humidity for these varieties varied within 13.5–18.2 %. The susceptibility of new varieties to Coccomyces and monilial blight is insignificant (no more than 1.2 points). Varieties Bigarro Krainsky, Pomegranate, Lezginka and Nike are characterized by the highest content of soluble solids (12.4–16.3%) and sugars (11.01–12.02%) in fruits. Bigarro Krainski, Bela and Lezginka exhibited the highest vitamin C content (9.24– 9.70 mg %). With the exception of the Bela variety (5.0 g), all new varieties of cherries are characterised by large fruits (7.5–9.5 g). Tasting indicators were rated as high (within 4.7–5.0 points on a five-point scale) for the Lyubimitsa Korvatskogo, Pomegranate, Lezginka and Nike varieties. The average yield was the highest for Nike, Bela and Garnet (8.0–9.6 t/ ha). The study showed that new cherry varieties obtained a combination of economic and biologically valuable traits, along with improved consumer properties compared with the control varieties. Therefore, they are recommended as valuable parent materials for breeding programs and the expansion of commercial cherry orchards in Dagestan in order to obtain high-quality fruit products.