The Sweet Aryana cherry, developed at Unibo, is now making its way to Asia

After extensive testing and investment in production over several years, the Sweet Aryana® cherry variety PA1UNIBO*, resulting from research conducted by the Department of Agri-Food Science and Technology - DISTAL of the University of Bologna, is now set to launch in the Asian market as well. With its delightful crispiness and exceptional organoleptic qualities, the Sweet Aryana cherry, developed at Unibo, has been introduced to the Asian market by ANA Chile®, a renowned leader in global fruit variety management.

After becoming the exclusive licensee in Chile, Argentina and Peru in 2019, ANA Chile® focused on the Sweet Aryana® PA1UNIBO* cherry, reaching 2.4 million plants sold to local growers by 2023, covering over 2,200 hectares of land in Chile. The last production season in Chile was complex for all cherry varieties, due to climatic problems that impacted the stone fruits across the board, generating a deficit in cold weather accumulation, irregular flowering and splitting due to spring rains. In 2023, despite adverse weather conditions, over 63,700 kilos of this variety were exported from Chile to China.

While this quantity was smaller than expected, it still marked a remarkable 94% increase compared to the volume exported the previous year. This shipment provided valuable insight into the behaviour of the variety upon its arrival in Asia. The substantial number of plants sold in Chile to date, along with the commercial debut on the Chinese market in 2023, reflect the enduring efforts and remarkable achievements of the University of Bologna's breeding activities.

University of Bologna Breeding Programme - Cherry Breeding

The University of Bologna has a ten-year history in the improvement activity on fruit trees, carried out through the Department of Agro-Food Sciences and Technologies - DISTAL, with a focus on cherries, pears, apples, and kiwis. In particular, genetic improvement on cherry trees has been one of the most important activities since the 1980s. The programme, initiated in 2000 with over 3000 seedlings, culminated in the globally renowned Sweet Series*. A collection of top-quality cherry varieties, each with distinct harvesting periods yet sharing exceptional organoleptic and aesthetic characteristics.

The varieties have been registered in the European system for plant variety rights since 2012 under the names PA1UNIBO*, PA2UNIBO*, PA3UNIBO*, PA4UNIBO*, and PA5UNIBO*. Additionally, they have been complemented by registered trademarks including Sweet Aryana®, Sweet Lorenz®, Sweet Gabriel®, Sweet Valina®, and Sweet Saretta®. In 2015, the series was expanded to include the PA7UNIBO* Sweet Stephany®, which was later accompanied by the PA8UNIBO* Sweet Dave®. In addition to the Sweet Series, Marysa® was introduced in 2014. Early to yield, productive, adorned with dark-red skin, and distinguished by its unique aroma, this variety complements the range crafted by the University of Bologna to cater to the demands of both producers and consumers.