Agromorphological characterization of traditional Spanish sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.), sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) and duke cherry (Prunus x gondouinii Rehd.) cultivars

Abstract

Thirty-one traditional cultivars (26 sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.), four duke cherry (Prunus x gondouinii Rehd.), and one sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.)) from Sierra de Francia and Arribes del Duero in Central-Western Spain were surveyed and characterized agromorphologically. A total of 37 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 flowers, leaves, fruits and the tree itself over a 3 consecutive years. This made possible the unequivocal identification of 25 cultivars. A dendrogram gave a clear separation between the sour, duke and sweet cherry cultivars and showed existing synonymies and homonymies. This work is an important step in the conservation of genetic cherry resources in the province of Salamanca (Spain), which show distinctive and interesting agronomical characters such as low susceptibility to fruit cracking, high levels of soluble solids, early fruit maturity and great rusticity.