A robust PNW sweet cherry breeding and genetics program, 2022-2024
Author: Per McCord
Published: 2025
Summary: The PNW cherry breeding program continues its progress since the 2018 relaunch. Two promising Phase 3 selections, the early-ripening R19 and R3, are nearing the end of their 2023-2025 trial period. Pending favorable results in 2025, these two are expected to be released as new cultivars later that year. Newer selections in Phase 2 are also performing well, and one or more of these are expected to advance to Phase 3 after the 2025 season. The deployment of a new optical sorter, tested in 2023 and 2024, will enable cost-saving labor reductions as well as producing more consistent results. More than 3000 new Phase 1 seedlings have been planted in the last three years, derived almost exclusively from bi-parental crosses targeting industry priority traits. The breeding program has also successfully deployed newly developed DNA tests for fruit firmness and cracking along with existing tests for self-fertility and powdery mildew, eliminating > 1200 inferior seedlings at the greenhouse stage, with projected savings of thousands of dollars in planting and management costs.
