Frank Kappel

Relationship between light microclimate, fruit growth, fruit quality, specific leaf weight and N and P content of spur leaves of ‘Bartlett’ and ‘Anjou’ pear☆

Abstract Hemispherical photography was used to measure the light microclimate surrounding fruiting spurs of ‘Bartlett’ and ‘Anjou’ pear (Pyrus communis L.) and to relate the percentage of sky visible in the photograph (% sky) to fruit growth patterns and fruit size and quality at harvest. Each cultivar responded differently to the variation in % sky within the spur microclimate. Fruit size and concentration of total soluble solids at harvest of ‘Anjou’ was positively correlated to % sky. For ‘Bartlett’, fruit firmness and concentration of total soluble solids at harvest were positively correlated to % sky, whereas two components of fruit color, hue angle and chroma, were negatively correlated to % sky. Spur leaf N on an area basis was positively correlated to % sky and spur leaf P on a dry weight basis was negatively correlated to % sky for both cultivars. There were no consistent relationships between the N and P status of spur leaves and any measures of fruit quality. For the 3 years of the study, the number of blossom clusters of ‘Anjou’ was positively correlated to % sky the previous summer.

13S2009 (Staccato™) sweet cherry

13S2009 (Staccato™) is a very late maturing sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) that has been released by the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre (PARC-Summerland), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Summerland, B.C. The release is part of the ongoing sweet cherry breeding program that began in 1936 (Kappel and Lay 1997). Staccato™ is the latest maturing cultivar released from PARC-Summerland and has very good fruit size and firmness. It was released to growers for commercial testing in 2000. Key words: Prunus avium, fruit breeding, cultivars

Resistance of sweet cherry cultivars to fruit surface pitting

A recently developed technique was used to determine the susceptibility to fruit surface pitting of new sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars and compare them to an industry standard. The cultivars tested included Bing (industry standard), Cristalina, Lapins, Sandra Rose, Santina, Skeena, Sonata, Staccato, and Sweetheart. Fruit were harvested at commercial maturity, injured, held at 1°C for 2 wk and then rated for fruit surface pitting. The cultivars Lapins, Skeena, Staccato, and Sweetheart had less pitting than Bing. Cristalina and Sonata tended to have similar levels of injury to Bing and Sandra Rose and Santina tended to have more severe pitting than Bing. Key words: Sweet cherries, cultivars, simulated pitting injury

SPC103 (Sentennial™) sweet cherry

Kappel, F., MacDonald, R. A., Brownlee, R. T. and McKenzie, D.-L. 2011 SPC103 (Sentennial™) sweet cherry. Can. J. Plant Sci. 91: 179-181. SPC103 (Sentennial™) is a sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) that has been released by the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre (PARC-Summerland), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Summerland, BC, as part of the ongoing sweet cherry breeding program that began in 1936. Sentennial™ is the latest maturing cultivar released from PARC-Summerland and has very good fruit size and firmness. It was released to growers for advanced commercial testing in 2006. The name Sentennial™ was chosen in honour of the District of Summerlands centennial year in 2006 and it was spelled with an “S” to maintain the tradition of starting most cherry cultivar names from the Summerland breeding program with an “S”.

13N0770 (Stardust™) sweet cherry

13N0770 (Stardust™) is a late-maturing blush sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) that has been released by the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre (PARC-Summerland), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Summerland, BC. The release is part of the on-going sweet cherry breeding program that began in 1936 (Kappel and Lay 1997). Stardust™ is the latest-maturing blush or bi-colored cultivar released from PARC-Summerland and has very good fruit size, firmness, and is self-fertile. It was released to growers for wide scale commercial testing in 2002.Key words: Prunus avium, fruit breeding, cultivar description