Native cultivars of sour and sweet cherries in Croatia: main characteristics and potential of production in marginal areas

A. Vokurka, V. Židovec, N. Jeran, K. Karlović, H. Li, B. Duralija, J. Wang, D. Dujmović Purgar, S. Bolarić
The production of sour and sweet cherries is increasing thanks to the recognition of the nutritional and commercial value these fruit species have. Sour cherry has high levels of antioxidants and bioactive components, and it is technologically suitable for numerous ways of processing. There are plenty of novel food products that may be made from sour cherry fruits. Sweet cherry is, behind its nutritional value, recognized as a high-income crop mainly used for consuming in fresh condition. Among plenty of known cultivars spread internationally over the majority of production areas, there is also growing interest in local cultivars as a part of new and unique offers especially demanded by some categories of consumers. These cultivars are not spread widely but may be of interest for producers that are searching for a specific market niche, as well as consumers demanding something unique. We give a review of native cultivars of sour and sweet cherries grown in Croatia. Among sour cherries, the most important is ‘Maraska’ and ‘Oblačinska’, the first one by its unique aromas, high content of TSS, and adaptability to grow in marginal growing areas, while the other one by its high yield that does not have negative influence on the quality of fruits for juice and jam production and other processing purposes. These cultivars grow as populations with a high amount of accumulated variability and may be a source for clonal selection. We also give a review of internationally less known local cultivars of sweet cherries grown in Croatia (‘Tugarka’, ‘Creska’, ‘Okićka’, ‘Gomilička’, etc.) grown within certain areas of production, providing their pomological and technological description, pointing out their adaptability to certain marginal producing conditions and other traits that may attract the interest of growers internationally.
Vokurka, A., Židovec, V., Jeran, N., Karlović, K., Li, H., Duralija, B., Wang, J., Dujmović Purgar, D. and Bolarić, S. (2021). Native cultivars of sour and sweet cherries in Croatia: main characteristics and potential of production in marginal areas. Acta Hortic. 1315, 77-84
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1315.12
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1315.12
cherries, fruit characteristics, aroma, TSS
English

Acta Horticulturae