Danish sour cherry production is challenged by low and erratic yields, lack of sustainable cultivars for organic production and variable fruit quality. Characterization of sour cherry breeding genotypes from AU FOOD to identify new sustainable cultivars with better yield, taste and fruit quality, will support a continued Danish sustainable sour cherry production and possible pave the way for new use of sour cherry fruit

The project focus on analysing raw data and writing up results based on mainly existing data on sour cherry as a Danish fruit crop. The data consists of plant growth recordings and fruit quality analysis of ca. 20 selected clones from AU FOOD’s breeding program (originally 3400 crosses) to develop better varieties for Danish production. 

The tasks include analysing and describing/presenting results from existing raw data set from our experimental orchard on plant growth, plant health (recorded attack by diseases etc., flowering, fruit set and harvested yield data etc.). There is also a data set from this trial with raw data on anthocyanin content (the red color) in fruits (HPLC) from the clones, that will be part of the analysis and report.
Fruits from these clones are stored in the freezer, and preliminary taste data may be improved to find better tasting and flavoured clones. Coupling the taste data (sweetness and acidity taste) with actual lab measurements on the fruit for sugar content and acidity could be part of the optional experimental add on. In case of 60 ECTS, additional chemical analysis could be included (bioactivity antioxidant capacity, phenols, melatonin etc, to be determined).

You will analyse and write up a report/manuscript with these data and compare to literature on sour cherry to get a basis for selecting a few clones from the more than 20 originally in tests.