Assessment of the consumer qualities in cherry plum fruits

Background. Cherry plum becomes increasingly popular among amateur gardeners. Plants of this fruit crop are characterized by such positive qualities as an early start of fruiting, high potential productivity, and annual formation of generative organs. This crop allows the users to significantly diversify the range of fresh fruits. Material and methods. The objective was to analyze the properties and characteristics of nine cherry plum cultivars grown both in Russia and abroad. Cv. 'Kubanskaya Kometa' released in the Central Black Earth Region served as the control. Weighing was carried out on the AND EJ-6100 laboratory scales. Soluble dry substance (DS) accumulation was assessed on an MT-032 field refractometer. Statistical data processing was carried out using the Microsoft Excel 2007 and Statistica 10 software. Results and conclusions. Large-fruited cvs. 'Kubanskaya Kometa', 'Zlato Skifov', 'Soneika' and 'Printsessa' were identified, with an average weight of more than 26 g. The stone content was the lowest in 'Kubanskaya Kometa', 'Zlato Skifov', 'Soneika' and 'Printsessa', with a percentage of less than 5%. 'Karminnaya Zhukova' was characterized by a detachable stone; 'Soneika', 'Zlato Skifov', 'Printsessa', 'Solnechnaya' and 'Alaya Rannyaya' showed high juiciness of fruits; 'Soneika' contained a high soluble DS amount (more than 14%). The fruits of 'Printsessa', 'Karminnaya Zhukova' and 'Kubanskaya Kometa' had dark color and attractive appearance. 'Kubanskaya Kometa' and 'Soneika' demonstrated high fruit taste qualities (scored 4.5 points). Cvs. 'Kubanskaya Kometa', 'Soneika', 'Zlato Skifov' and 'Printsessa' were identified for the combination of high consumer qualities in their fruits in the Central Black Earth Region.