Cherry variety: PA5UNIBO* Sweet Saretta™

PA5UNIBO* Sweet Saretta® is one of the 7 varieties of sweet cherry belonging to the “Sweet” series. These varieties come from a breeding programme which began in the early 2000s at the Department of Tree Crops (now the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences) at the Alma Mater Studiorum, with a precise “target”, i.e. to obtain six or seven varieties that could cover a harvesting period of at least 30-40 days, all with a “maximum” common denominator: fruits with excellent appearance, easily recognisable organoleptic qualities, obtained from trees with high agronomic performance and productivity.

Tree: high vigour with open canopy, good branching, standard bearing habit. Production mainly on the shoots and flowering buds at the base of the one-year old branches.

Flowering: intermediate, 2-3 days after Burlat. Self-compatible; allelic profile: S3S4’; incompatibility group SC/O (self-fertile and universal pollinator).

Time of maturity: medium-late and uniform; harvest begins 22 to 24 days after Burlat depending on the year (same period as Ferrovia, Kordia and Sylvia). Excellent ripening resistance of the fruits on the plant.

Fruit: large size (dominant calibre: 30-32 mm; average weight 11-12g), heart-shaped, symmetrical, attractive. Medium-thin skin, red shiny colour (scale 4 CTIFL code) covering the whole surface, tending to dark red-vermilion and shiny when fully ripe (scale 5 CTIFL code). Surface suture line. Red flesh with a good consistency, juicy and aromatic, high quality, well-balanced flavour, sweet, good acidity content. The main quali-quantitative parameters are given in tables 2 and 3. The sensory profile of the variety is given in figure 2 and in table 4. Medium-long stalk, intermediate thickness. Medium sized freestone pit.

Agronomic evaluation: very early fruiting on dwarfing rootstocks (Gisela 6® Gi148/2*); constantly high cropping. Currently being tested on vigorous (Colt) and semi-vigorous plants (CAB 6P). In years with heavy rainfall, the fruits have high susceptibility to splitting, with localised damage mostly at the top and bottom.

Patents and Trade Marks:

• Community plant variety right application (EU plant variety rights, c/o CPVO) no. 2012/1161 held by Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna. Varietal denomination PA5UNIBO*.
• Plant patent application (US patent, c/o USPTO) no. 13/986686 held by Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna.
• EU trade mark Sweet Saretta^® no. 11058691/2012 filed by the University of Bologna.

Licences:

European Union 

• Italy: Salvi Vivai, Top Plant Vivai, Vivai Fortunato and Vivai Spinelli (co-esclusivity) 
• Greece: Vitro Hellas  
• Spain: Tecniplant 2010 S.L.  
• Czech Republic: Fytos   
• Belgium: DEPA-Fruit  
• France: IFO  

Extra-EU:  

• Turkey: Parlar  
• Chile: ANA   
• South Africa: Stargrow  
• Australia: Graham's Factree (Multiplication agreeement); The Austral (Commercialization agreement) 
• New Zealand: Innovar (Evaluation&Option Agreement) 
• USA: Innovar (Evaluation&Option Agreement) 

• Lugli S., Correale R., Grandi M., 2012. Serie Sweet: belle fuori, buone dentro. Sweet Series: beauties outside, delights inside. Frutticoltura - Supplement to no. 11-2012: 1-17.
• Lugli S., 2013. Sweet, delicious new cherries from Bologna University Sweet, la dolcezza delle ciliegie targate Unibo. Fresh Point Magazine. n. 4-2013: 50-55.
• Lugli S., Correale R., Grandi M., 2013. La nuova serie Sweet: primi risultati agronomici e qualitativi. Frutticoltura. n. 4-2013: 12-19.
• Lugli S., Correale R., Grandi M., 2014. Modificazioni nella qualità dei frutti in varietà della serie Sweet. Frutticoltura. n. 4-2014: 30-32