Gräb Nursery, the German specialist in stone fruits, visited the UK this summer to tour major cherry growers and assess how their Kir® cherry varieties have been performing under British conditions. The visit marks another milestone in their collaboration with Frank P Matthews Trees, as both organisations push forward with new rootstocks and fruit varieties. The Kir® varieties have been bred by Hilmer Gräb to extend and bridge the picking gap in late cherries. This range starts picking from Regina harvesting time and extends through and up to two weeks after Sweetheart®.
During the tour, Gräb inspected commercial orchards growing the late Kir® varieties Lamour, Vulcano, Rio and Rosso, evaluating traits such as fruit firmness, colour, resistance to cracking, and flavour in the UK climate. Kir® Lamour and Kir® Vulcano showed exceptional fruit quality and Kir® Rosso, as well as being the latest cherry by a long way, also keeps well in storage, remaining firm for several weeks towards the end of August. Alongside this assessment, there were discussions about trials of Apricor and Miroper rootstocks, which are showing promising results for vigour control and yield.
Putting innovation at the centre, Gräb also introduced a new plum variety called Sigi, and shared previews of further new cherry varieties being developed for a longer season, improved disease resistance, and enhanced storage.
Nick Dunn, Director at Frank P Matthews Trees, commented: “We are excited by what we saw in August, the late Kir® cherries are performing very well here, the quality of Vulcano and Lamour is quite exceptional. Our agency with Gräb continues to bring the best in variety development to UK growers”.
