Evaluation of Ribes Rubrum Cultivars in Estonia

Abstract The evaluation of cultivars of red and white currant (Ribes rubrum L.) was carried out in 2019–2020 at the Polli Horticultural Research Centre of the Estonian University of Life Sciences, South-Estonia. The aim of this study was to estimate traits of red and white currant cultivars of both Estonian and introduced origin. An evaluation plot was established in the autumn of 2016. During two consecutive years (2019–2020), 11 promising cultivars were evaluated for the beginning of flowering and fruit ripening, winter hardiness, resistance to diseases (expressed in scores 1–9), yield per bush, fruit weight, drop of flowers and premature berries, as well as the content of the soluble solids (°Brix), titratable acids, ascorbic acid, total phenols and total anthocyanins. The highest yield was determined in cultivars ‘Bayana’ and ‘Viksnes’, while cvs. ‘Rovada’, ‘Jonkheer van Tets’, ‘Kurvitsa 4’ and ‘Valko’ had larger berries. The highest soluble solid content was found in the berries of red currant ’Krameri punane’ (13.8 °Brix) and white currant ’Bayana’ (12.4 °Brix).