Identifying cultivars of large cranberry based on their morphobiological traits

Abstract

The history of large cranberry selection dates back more than 100 years. Firstly, the main focus was the size of the fruit and its yield, but later attention shifted to disease resistance, fruit maturation and preservability, its suitability for processing and even pectin volume in fruits. Therefore, distinction between cultivars of large cranberry is largely based on morphobiological traits of their fruits. Several cultivars possess distinct deviations from the norm in their sprout growth patterns, their thickness and stiffness. At present time over 200 cultivars of large cranberry have been created around the world, and yet they lack clear classification that would allow cultivars to be identified by their characteristic morphobiological traits. Observations conducted over many years have shown that the main criteria the cranberry cultivars are differentiated by are growth pattern, shape, size and color of their berries, presence or lack of grey coating on them and its intensity, and fruit maturation times. As a result of comparative analysis, classification for visual identification of 43 cultivars of large cranberry has been developed.