SWEET CHERRY BREEDING 



Scientific Improvement only Beginning — Breeders in Ignorance as to Nature of 



Material with Which They Are Dealing — Needs of Growers — 



Self-sterility of Cultivated Varieties.^ 



V. R. Gardner 



Professor of Pomology, Oregon Agricultural College, Corvallis, Ore. 



A 



T THE present time the sweet 



cherry varieties grown in this 



country number among the 



hundreds. A large percentage 

 of these varieties are of old world origin. 

 Though seedlings of American origin 

 were named and introduced at a com- 

 paratively early period in the history 

 of American pomology, it is only within 

 recent years that American varieties of 

 commercial importance have appeared. 

 Among a number of reasons for this 

 is the fact that while the sweet cherry 

 has not proved to be particularly well 

 adapted to much of the territory east 

 of the Rocky Mountains, at the same 

 time it has not practically refused to 

 grow there, like certain other fruits of 

 European origin. Consequently, there 

 has not been the same amount of effort 

 devoted to its breeding in Eastern 

 America, as the many good qualities 

 of the fruit would seem to warrant. 

 On the other hand, the last fifty or 

 seventy-five years have shown that the 

 sweet cherry reaches a high degree of 

 perfection on the Pacific Coast; and 

 with the rapid development of a com- 

 mercial cherry industry there, new 

 varieties of more or less promise have 

 appeared. 



With the Inindreds of European 

 varieties ui)(jn which to build an in- 

 dustry it might seem that there would 

 be little need of breeding new \'arieties 

 for the section in question, esijccially . 

 since such a large percentage of those 

 in existence seem to do as well here as 

 in the countries of their origin. In 

 fact such" a need has not been felt 

 until comparatively recently — as market 

 demands have come to be more exacting. 



' Report to the committee on research in j)lant-ltrcc(hnK, American Genetic Association. Sub 

 jnitted by the committee. 



312 



Today certain sections have come to 

 cater to particular markets. Only by 

 being able to send a particular type of 

 cherry to particular markets at certain 

 seasons can competition with other 

 sections be largely avoided and the 

 largest profits be realized. For instance, 

 certain California sections are mainly 

 interested in an extra-early firm .shipping 

 va,riety that can be placed upon the 

 Eastern markets in late April and early 

 May ; certain eastern Oregon and Wash- 

 ington valleys are desirous of growing 

 very late shipping varieties that can be 

 placed upon those same markets in 

 late July and early August; still other 

 sections desire a light colored canning 

 variety that can be grown with the 

 Napoleon to lengthen the harvesting 

 season for the cannery. Many other 

 "vacant places," if such they may be 

 called, might be mentioned in our 

 present catalogue of cherry varieties; 

 but enough have been indicated to 

 suggest the nature of the practical 

 ]jroblcms presented to the breeder by 

 the cherry industry. 



OBSTACLES TO BREEDING 



It would seem that these objects 

 not only ought to be possible of attain- 

 ment, but that many of them ought to 

 prove comi)aratively simple problems 

 for the plant breeder. However, when 

 the situation is investigated it is found 

 that the breeder has very little in the 

 way of detailed information regarding 

 the materials with which he must 

 work. With but few exceptions nothing 

 is known regarding the ancestry of 

 ])resent day varieties. Most of them 

 originated as chance seedlings. When 



