Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium) AELITA

Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium) 'Aelita'

A Ukrainian variety with very high yield and an excellent honey flavour.

'Aelita' (Аэлита) is a highly valued Ukrainian sweet cherry variety that originated from the open pollination of the ‘Droganova zheltya’ variety. It is renowned for its exceptionally high yield, large, attractive fruits, and an excellent sweet flavour with a honey undertone. Thanks to its good resistance to frost, drought, and diseases, it is a reliable and very productive variety, suitable for warmer regions.

Main advantages of the variety:

• Very high yield: Up to 80–100 kg from a mature tree.
• Large fruits with an excellent sweet, honey flavour.
• Good resistance to frost, drought, and diseases (especially shot hole disease).
• Attractive, yellow-red fruits.
• The crown is easy to shape.

Origin and Registration

• Country of origin: Ukraine
• Breeder: L. I. Taranenko
• Institution: Donetsk Experimental Station of Horticulture (UAAS)
• Origin: Seedling from open pollination of the ‘Droganova zheltya’ variety (1956)
• Registration: Included in the state register in 1995.

Variety Characteristics

Tree

• Growth: Vigorous, grows to a height of 5 – 6 m.
• Crown: Globular, spreading, medium density, easy to shape.
• Pollination: It is cross-pollinated.

Fruit

• Size and weight: Large, with a weight of 7 – 10 g.
• Shape and colour: Oblate. The skin is yellow with a bright red blush.
• Flesh: Light yellow, very firm, crunchy, and juicy.
• Flavour: Excellent, dessert-like, sweet with a honey taste and a pleasant aroma.
• Stone: Medium-sized, easily separable from the flesh.
• Use: Versatile, ideal for fresh consumption.

Resistance and Requirements

• Frost resistance: Good (above average).
• Disease resistance: High, especially to shot hole disease.
• Drought resistance: Good.
• Requirements: Requires a warm, sheltered location and fertile, well-drained soil.

Cultivation Recommendations

• To ensure a harvest, it is essential to plant another cherry variety nearby as a pollinator.

Harvest and Storage

• Harvest time: Mid-late (early July).
• Yield: Very high (50–60 kg from a 10-year-old tree).
• Entry into bearing: 4th to 5th year after planting.