New cultivars and future perspectives in professional fruit breeding in Estonia

During 2001-2010, the following cultivars from the breeding programme of the Polli Horticultural Research Centre of the Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences were registered: the apples ʹKaariʹ, ʹKaimoʹ, ʹKarambaʹ, ʹKatreʹ, ʹKikitriinuʹ, ʹKristaʹ, and ʹLiivikaʹ, the crab apples ʹKukuʹ, ʹRitikaʹ, and ʹRutiʹ, the sweet cherries ʹElleʹ, ʹKarmelʹ, ʹPiretʹ and ʹTontuʹ, the raspberries ʹAitaʹ and ʹAlviʹ, and the black currants ʹAlmoʹ, ʹAtsʹ, ʹEloʹ and ʹKarriʹ. Since 2004, applications for registration and DUS testing have been submitted for the new apple cultivar ʹElsʹ, pear cultivars ʹKadiʹ and ʹPolli Punaneʹ, sweet cherry cultivars ʹAnuʹ, ʹEneʹ, ʹIrmaʹ, ʹKasparʹ, ʹMupiʹ, ʹPolli Murelʹ and ʹTommuʹ. Apple, plum, sweet cherry, black currant and raspberry breeding programmes are going on as part of the public breeding program. Winter hardiness is the first-rate goal in all crops. In apple, breeding for scab resistance is now the main task. In the nearest future, some new plum, apple and black currant cultivars will supplement the breeding results of the institution at Polli.