EVALUATION OF THE LOCAL GREEK SWEET CHERRY CULTIVAR 'VASILIADI' COMPARED TO THE CULTIVAR 'FERROVIA'

Sweet cherry trees (Prunus avium L.) of the cultivars ‘Vasiliadi’ and ‘Ferrovia’ were grafted on wild cherry seedling rootstock (mazzard), trained as a typical vase shape and planted at distances 6x6 m apart. The evaluation was done for 5 consecutive years. Trees of ‘Vasiliadi’ are vigorous (more vigorous than ‘Ferrovia’), with an upright growth habit. The flower density of ‘Vasiliadi’ is high, similar to ‘Ferrovia’. Both cultivars have an average of three flowers per fruit bud. The flowering of the cultivars ‘Ferrovia’ and ‘Vasiliadi’ starts at April 5 and 6, respectively. The trees require cross-pollination. ‘Vasiliadi’ sweet cherry is a mid-season, high-quality sweet cherry cultivar that matures 5 days earlier than ‘Ferrovia’. Productivity and mean fruit weight of ‘Vasiliadi’ were higher than ‘Ferrovia’. The fruit of ‘Vasiliadi’ are large, symmetrical, and kidney-shaped. Fruit of ‘Vasiliadi’ are juicy, sweet when mature, and have good eating quality. Total soluble solids of ‘Vasiliadi’ were higher than ‘Ferrovia’, whereas firmness was lower. ‘Vasiliadi’ fruit are attractive with mahogany skin color and pink-red flesh.