Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) breeding has a long tradition in Germany. ... disease tolerance to brown rot (Monilinia laxa), leaf spot (Blumeriella jaapii),.
New Sour Cherry Cultivars from Dresden-Pillnitz M. Schuster Federal Centre for Breeding Research on Cultivated Plants Institute for Fruit Breeding D-01326 Dresden Germany
B. Wolfram Guerickestraße 15 D-01257 Dresden Germany
Keywords: P. cerasus, fruit breeding, productivity, disease tolerance, leaf spot, brown rot, mechanical harvest Abstract Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) breeding has a long tradition in Germany. The main breeding goals are fruit quality, high productivity, self-compatibility, disease tolerance to brown rot (Monilinia laxa), leaf spot (Blumeriella jaapii), tolerance to spring frost and suitability for mechanical harvest. The result of several crossing series has been the selection of eight sour cherry cultivars. ‘Korund’, ‘Karneol’, ‘Morina’, ‘Safir’ and ‘Topas’ have been adopted into commercial fruit production. Two new cultivars, ‘Jade’ and ‘Achat’, were accorded protection under Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) in 2004, and PBR has been applied for the newest cultivar Rubellit. INTRODUCTION Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) breeding has a long tradition in Germany. At the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institute for Breeding Research in Müncheberg (near Berlin), the first sour cherry breeding activities were started in 1928 (Schmidt, 1938, 1948). Because of Would War II, the breeding work was interrupted and important breeding material was lost (Kuckuck et al., 1948). After the separation of Germany, the breeding was restarted in both the Western and Eastern parts of Germany. In Western Germany, sour cherry breeding was continued by Max Zwintzscher at Köln-Vogelsang with a part of the breeding material from Müncheberg. The major research objectives focused on seedlings from the self-pollinated cultivar Schattenmorelle. This resulted in the selection of five sour cherry cultivars (Zwintzscher, 1964, 1968, 1969): ‘Mailot’ ‘Cerella’ ‘Nabella’ ‘Successa’ ‘Bonnie’
‘Große Lange Lotkirsche’ × ‘Rote Mai’ ‘Schattenmorelle’ × self pollinated ‘Schattenmorelle’ × self pollinated ‘Schattenmorelle’ × self pollinated ‘Schattenmorelle’ × self pollinated
With the retirement of Zwintzscher in 1975, sour cherry breeding was finished at Köln-Vogelsang. Beside the sour cherry cultivars from Zwintzscher, two additional cultivars were selected by Vogt at Halle (Vogt, pers. commun.) and by Jacob at Geisenheim (Jacob, 1994) in the 1980s and 1990s: ‘Vowi’ ‘Gerema’
clone selected from ‘Schattenmorelle’ ‘Kelleriis 14’ × open pollinated
In Eastern Germany, sour cherry breeding was restarted by Brigitte Wolfram at Müncheberg in 1965 and has continued at Dresden-Pillnitz since 1971. In this breeding program, the Hungarian cultivar Köröser was used as the predominant parent for most crossing combinations to increase fruit quality and tolerance to diseases. Five new cultivars were selected and released as a result (Wolfram, 2000): Proc. 5th IS on Cherry Eds.: A. Eris et al. Acta Hort. 795, ISHS 2008
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‘Korund’ ‘Karneol’ ‘Safir’ ‘Morina’ ‘Topas’
‘Köröser’ × ‘Schattenmorelle’ ‘Köröser’ × ‘Schattenmorelle’ ‘Schattenmorelle’ × ‘Fanal’ ‘Köröser’ × ‘Reinhardts Ostheimer’ ‘Kelleriis 16’ × ‘Fanal’
Since 2000, the Dresden-Pillnitz sour cherry breeding program has been continued by Mirko Schuster. The main breeding goals are fruit quality, high productivity, selfcompatibility, resistance to diseases (Monilinia laxa and Blumeriella jaapii) and suitability for mechanical harvest. Two new cultivars, ‘Achat’ and ‘Jade’, were released in 2004, and the newest ‘Rubellit’, is in the process of being protected under Plant Breeders’ Rights. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ‘Jade’
Tested as Pi-Sa 11,134, ‘Jade’ is a result of the cross ‘Köröser’ × ‘Röhrigs Weichsel’. ‘Jade’ was released because of its very good balanced sweet-acidic taste and excellent fruit flavor. The Brix and acidity values are high. The fruit size of ‘Jade’ is middle to large, 24 mm/6.4 g (Table 1). The fruit color is dark red brown and the fruit is kidney-shaped. The tree growth is upright and it can be trained as a central leader. Tree vigor is moderate with a low tendency to produce blind wood. The flowering time is mid to late. ‘Jade’ is self-fertile. Similar to ‘Schattenmorelle’, the ripening time is late and the fruit productivity is very high. ‘Jade’ has a low susceptibility to blossom blight (Monilinia laxa) but is susceptible to leaf spot (Blumeriella jaapii). The spring frost tolerance is very high. ’Jade’ is suitable for commercial fruit production and home gardening. ‘Achat’ ‘Achat’ resulted from a cross between ‘Köröser’ × ‘clone 2.40’ (‘Fanal’ × ‘Kelleriis 16’). ‘Achat’ was released to provide a mid-season cultivar with good fruit quality. The ripening time is two weeks before ‘Schattenmorelle’. The fruit size of ‘Achat’ has been middle to large, 24 mm/6.7 g (Table 1). The fruit color is dark red and the fruit shape is flat round. The flavor is balanced sweet-acidic and fruity. ‘Achat’ is characterized by vigorous growth and the fruits are borne on short spurs, bouquet spurs, which arise from older wood. The tendency to produce blind wood is low. The flowering time is mid season. ‘Achat’ is self-fertile and the fruit set is not as high as ‘Schattenmorelle’. ‘Achat’ has a low susceptibility to blossom blight but is susceptible to leaf spot. ‘Achat’ is suitable for commercial fruit production and home gardening. ‘Rubellit’ ‘Rubellit’ resulted from the cross ‘Köröser’ × ‘Schattenmorelle’. ‘Rubellit’ was selected because of its high fruit set, which is higher than or similar to ‘Schattenmorelle’. The fruits of ‘Rubellit’ are middle to large, 24 mm/7 g (Table 1). The fruit color is red brown and the fruit shape is round. The flavor has a tendency to acidic. The tree habit of ‘Rubellit’ is upright. The branches tend to droop. The flowering time is mid to late. ‘Rubellit’ is self-fertile and the ripening time is late, similar to ‘Schattenmorelle’. The susceptibility of ‘Rubellit’ to blossom blight and leaf spot is low. ’Rubellit’ is suitable for commercial fruit production and home gardening. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks to Dr. Ch. Grafe for the evaluation of the Brix value and tartaric acid.
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Literature Cited Jacob, H. 1994. ‘Gerema’. Obstbau 7:352–353. Kuckuck, H. and Schmidt, M. 1948. Zwanzig Jahre Pflanzenzüchtung in Müncheberg. Der Züchter 19:129–135. Schmidt, M. 1938. Aufgaben und Stand der Züchtung von Kern- und Steinobstsorten. Forschungsdienst 5:27–48. Schmidt, M. 1948. Erreichtes und Erstrebtes in der Obstzüchtung. Der Züchter 19:135– 153. Zwintzscher, M. 1964. Die Sauerkirsche ‘Mailot’. Der Erwerbsobstbau 6:149–151. Zwintzscher, M. 1968. Die Sauerkirsche ‘Cerella’. Der Erwerbsobstbau 10:108–110. Zwintzscher, M. 1969. ‘Nabella’, eine großfrüchtige Sauerkirsche für die industrielle Verwertung. Der Erwerbsobstbau 11:145–148. Wolfram, B. 2000. Sour cherry breeding at Dresden-Pillnitz. Acta Hort. 538:359–362.
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Tables Table 1. Characteristics of the Dresden-Pillnitz sour cherry cultivars in comparison to ‘Schattenmorelle’ (2000–2003).
cultivar
self-fertility fruit set % 1-9*
fruit weight g
harvest time**
fruit color Brix value tartaric acid % g/L
Jade
35.6
7.0
6.9
M-E July
darkred brown
17.2
20.4
Achat
22.7
6.0
7.2
M July
dark red
17.1
17.5
Rubellit
29.2
7.3
7.4
E July
dark red
15.2
19.0
Morina
18.2
6.5
7.3
M July
red brown
15.9
25.0
Safir
23.7
6.6
8.4
M July
dark red
14.2
17.9
Karneol
12.1
5.3
7.9
E July
darkred brown
15.4
17.4
Topas
17.1
6.5
7.8
M July
dark red
14.1
31.7
Schattenmorelle
30.2
6.6
6.1
E July
dark red
15.5
18.2
* 1 - not fruit set, 9 - max. fruit set; ** M - middle, E - end
