Shandiz, a new early ripening sweet cherry cultivar with suitable size and quality

Release of early ripening and high-quality cultivars is always one of the most important goals of cherry breeding programs. In 2019, Shandiz was released through selection of native cherry genotypes of Khorasan Razavi province after performing five research projects during 20 years. The results of more than a decade of research showed that Shandiz cultivar has an extensive growth habit and moderate branching power. According to the phenological studies Shandiz flowering starts in the first week of April and it is ready to be harvested in the Third week of May. This cultivar is self-incompatible and Zard-90 and Sorati Lavasan are recommended as suitable and compatible pollinator cultivars. Fruit weight of Shandiz (7.23 gr) is higher than Adli (4.9 gr), and Delamarka (3.8 gr) cultivars. Shandiz has a higher total solid soluble (TSS) (%18.16) compared to Adli (%16.9) and Delamarka (%16.2) cultivars. The yield of Shandiz was 23 kg/tree compared to Adli (14.5 kg/tree). Although early ripening cultivars usually have smaller fruit size due to the short growing season, but the high fruit weight and percentage of TSS in Shandiz are considered as some important advantages to increase its economic value as well as its marketability.