Resistance of sweet cherry cultivars to fruit surface pitting

A recently developed technique was used to determine the susceptibility to fruit surface pitting of new sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars and compare them to an industry standard. The cultivars tested included Bing (industry standard), Cristalina, Lapins, Sandra Rose, Santina, Skeena, Sonata, Staccato, and Sweetheart. Fruit were harvested at commercial maturity, injured, held at 1°C for 2 wk and then rated for fruit surface pitting. The cultivars Lapins, Skeena, Staccato, and Sweetheart had less pitting than Bing. Cristalina and Sonata tended to have similar levels of injury to Bing and Sandra Rose and Santina tended to have more severe pitting than Bing.