YIELDING AND FRUIT QUALITY OF SELECTED SWEET CHERRY (Prunus avium) CULTIVARS IN THE CONDITIONS OF CENTRAL POLAND

Abstract

The study involving 5 cherry cultivars was conducted in 2015–2016. The varieties ‘Techlovan’, ‘Summit’, ‘Sylvia’, ‘Kordia’ and ‘Regina’ were planted in 2010 in the Experimental Orchard of the Department of Pomology in Warsaw-Wilanów on GiSelA5 rootstock. The aim of the study was to evaluate the production value and dessert fruit quality as well as health proprieties of the tested cultivars’ fruits and select the most valuable ones. It was shown that the varieties differed in fruit set and yielding as well as fruit quality (i.e. fruit size, firmness, soluble solid content, acidity) and health benefits (i.e. polyphenol, anthocyanin, and ascorbic acid content). ‘Techlovan’ trees had the lowest yield, but their fruits were of high quality. ‘Kordia’ and ‘Regina’ also provided high quality fruit with high total polyphenol content. In contrast, the ‘Sylvia’ cultivar had a high yield, but the fruit obtained from it was of poor quality. All tested cultivars had similar vitamin C content.