RESULTS OBTAINED FROM SWEET CHERRY BREEDING IN IAŞI, ROMANIA

Abstract

From 1994 - 2016, the Research Station for Fruit Growing (RSFG) Iași approved 28 cherry cultivars, of which three were early cultivars (Cetăţuia, Cătălina and Amaris), 20 were middle maturation cultivars (Maria, Golia, Ştefan, Bucium, Iaşirom, Tereza, Lucia, Radu, Oana, Alexus, Andreiaş, Ludovan, Cociuvaş, Iosifan, Paulică, Mihailis, Muşatini, Elaiaşi, Amar Maxut, and Amar Galata), and five had late maturation (Andante, Marina, Croma, Margonia, and George). Van, as the most widespread cultivar in Romanian orchards, was used as a control. The sweet cherry cultivars were created through direct hybridisation or free pollination. Maria Cultivar is the first Romanian self-fertile cultivar. The locally approved bitter cherry biotypes are Amar Maxut with black fruit, Amar Galata with double-coloured fruit, and Amaris with dark red fruit. Regarding the tree’s vigour, cultivars Amaris, Tereza, Ştefan, and Golia recorded weak vigour, in comparison with the other cultivars, which had medium vigour. Bitter-tasting cherry cultivars have semi-firm pulp with semi-adherence to the stone, and the fruit weight was under 7 g. All 28 cultivars presented high precocity, productivity, fruit quality, and resistance to frost, drought, and diseases.