Description and Quality Evaluation of Sweet Cherries Cultured in Spain

Abstract

Several physical, chemical and color characteristics of 20 sweet cherry cultivars cultured in Spain were investigated during a 3-year (2004-06) period. A total of 26 descriptors, mainly defined by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute and the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants were used to describe and compare the fruit quality of the main Spanish sweet cherry cultivars for fresh consumption and for industrial use. Some of the studied cultivars showed distinctive and interesting agronomical characters from a commercial point of view such as low susceptibility to fruit cracking and high soluble solids and total polyphenols levels. This was the case with the late cultivar widely distributed through the Jerte river valley called "Pico Negro." Its fruits were quite sweet (20.28°Brix), resistant to cracking (9.44%) and rich in polyphenols (1.60 g of gallic acid per 100 g dry weight). " were the improved cultivars that recorded the highest levels for weight of 100 fruits parameter (828.61 and 825.22 g, respectively) and the local cultivar "Corazón Serrano" showed the largest fruits (8.56 cm 3 ). PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThere have been no previous detailed studies describing and comparing the fruit quality characteristics of a wide number of sweet cherry cultivars. Studies including physical and chemical properties of sweet cherry fruits are 1 Corresponding

Evaluation of some cherry varieties grafted on Gisela 5 rootstock

“…Cordeiro et al (2008) indicated that improved varieties have short peduncles. However, according to Perez-Sanchez et al (2010), local varieties generally had long fruit peduncles, which made harvesting more difficult. This was confirmed in our study.…”

“…The fruit size is an important characteristic for commercial market value (Vittrup Christensen, 1995). Perez-Sanchez et al (2010) indicated that fruit weight is the most important physical attribute of the fruit, upon which the fruit value (price) depends. Table 4 shows the data for the average fruit weight of evaluated varieties.…”

The Influence of Rootstock on the Growth and Fructification of Cherry Cultivars in a High Density Cultivation System

“…Pérez-Sánchez et al (2010) indicated that fruit weight is the most important physical of the fruit, upon which the fruit value (price) depends. Fruit size from the trees on 'Gisela 5' rootstock depends on crop load and soil moisture (Vercammen 2002;Vercammen et al, 2006).…”

Early tree growth, productivity, fruit quality and leaf nutrients content of sweet cherry grown in a high density planting system

“…Celeste are symmetrical and kidney shaped. Differences in the fruit form are interesting, since a flattened sweet cherry seems to be more tempting than a lengthened one (Pérez-Sánchez et al 2010).…”

“…The health benefits of cherry fruit are usually attributed to their chemical composition, since they are a good source of antioxidant compounds and other phytochemicals such as sugars, organic acids, minerals, etc. (Nagy et al 2008;Pérez-Sánchez et al 2010). …”