For over 30 years, COT International has shared its passion for varietal research in apricots with French producers and consumers, and it is currently present in 15 other countries.
Day of varietal presentation for COT International in a producing orchard
The reputation of this French breeder is well established for apricots but not as well known for cherries. However, the company has been selecting cherry varieties from foreign programs for more than 10 years, including the early varieties of SMS Unlimited in California: Nimba cov / Pacific RED cov / Frisco cov / Rocket cov.
Nimba cov in production
“The Rocket cov cherries are very popular in Europe, especially in France and Italy. Turkey, the world’s largest cherry producer, has also been planting this variety in large quantities,” explains Marie-Laure Eteve, director of COT International and head of the hybridization program.
“Early, rustic varieties with very nice taste qualities and a great performance in all the production zones where they are tested and planted for marketing, both in the south and the north of Europe, with countries such as Belgium, Germany and the UK.” New varieties are being selected in this Californian range, including the SMS1 / SMS6, SMS33 and Redstone. This season, after several years of evaluation, the variety SMS16 / Epick 16 will be marketed for the first time by COT International.
Epick 16 cov
With a solid experience as a breeder of apricots and plums, COT International was able to use its know-how to start a hybridization program for cherries in 2010 in its orchard of St Gilles (Gard department).
New hybrid cherry plantation of COT International
Creating varieties requires a lot of patience, 10 to 12 years on average. In 2022, after 30 years of existence, COT International entered the first protected cherry variety in its catalog: the Sun Pop cov.
Sun Pop cov COT 12-09
It took some time because the French breeder follows the same selection criteria as for the apricots, with taste quality as the main priority. “It is also a self-fertile variety. This is still rare in the current offer of cherry varieties and it is becoming quite a significant quality in the context of climate change that has been shaking the blooming periods for all species of fruit trees. Additionally, this cherry comes relatively early as it is usually harvested 10 days after the Burlat,” explains Marie-Laure Eteve.
The first commercial plantings will take place in the winter of 2022/2023 for the producers convinced during the visits organized by COT International to present the variety. “We have other hybrids currently under evaluation, but Sun Pop quickly presented all the qualities we were looking for in cherries, and even more.”
Sun Pop cov COT 12-09
In addition to its great taste quality and self-fertility, this cherry also has a high potential when it comes to calibers (+30mm) and it is very firm. According to Pascal Bassols-Pot, technical and commercial manager, “it is a crunchy cherry with a long life post-harvest.”
Even with the abnormally high temperatures this fall, the first cherries of COT International will not be available until May-June 2023.
For more information:
Marie Laure Eteve
COT International
305 chemin de l’abricot
30230 Bouillargues - France
Phone: +33 6 81 40 02 82
marielaure@cot-international.eu
www.cot-international.eu
Pascal Bassols-Pot
Phone: +33 6 08 27 38 82
pascal@cot-international.eu