The Balaton cherry is a cultivar of sour
cherry (''
Prunus cerasus
''Prunus cerasus'' (sour cherry, tart cherry, or dwarf cherry) is a species of ''Prunus'' in the subgenus '' Cerasus'' (cherries), native to much of Europe and southwest Asia. It is closely related to the sweet cherry (''Prunus avium''), but ha ...
'') native to
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, where it was originally named ''Újfehértói Fürtös''. It was introduced to the United States in the 1980s and is now grown there commercially.
Cultivar history
The Balaton cultivar was first grown in the small Hungarian village of
Ujfeherto. The Communist government of post-war Hungary implemented a rigorous selection process to determine the best sour cherry varieties for planting in the nation's collective farms, and Balaton emerged as the winner.
[Charles, Dan]
"A Hungarian Cherry Tree's Long Trek To Michigan"
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
It was released commercially in Hungary in 1970.
["Uncommon Fruit"](_blank)
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
Dr. Amy Iezzoni, a horticultural researcher and cherry breeder at
Michigan State University, introduced the cultivar to the United States in 1984.
["Balaton Cherries"](_blank)
Michigan State University It was released commercially in the United States in 1998. Her Hungarian counterparts wanted the cultivar's commercial name in America to reflect its Hungarian heritage; it was named after
Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton () is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and ...
because "about the only thing an American can pronounce
n a map of Hungaryis Lake Balaton."
Fruit characteristics
The Balaton is a Morello-type sour cherry with a dark burgundy color throughout both the skin and flesh (in contrast to the better-known
Montmorency cherry, which has light-colored flesh) and a sweet-tart flavor.
It is resistant to rain-cracking and ships well, and the dark color of its fruit means no food coloring needs to be added to give products made from it a red color.
[Good Fruit Grower: Boosting Yields of Balaton Cherries](_blank)
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Growing characteristics
The Balaton is more sensitive to winter injury than other sour cherry cultivars.self-fertile
Self-incompatibility (SI) is a general name for several genetic mechanisms that prevent self-fertilization in sexually reproducing organisms, and thus encourage outcrossing and allogamy. It is contrasted with separation of sexes among individuals ...
, but it appears that yields can be improved by supplementing Balaton trees with pollen from sweet cherry
''Prunus avium'', commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry, gean, or bird cherryWorld Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. is a species of cherry, a flowering plant in the rose family, ...
trees.
See also
*Cherry production in Michigan
Cherry production in Michigan is a major part of the agriculture industry in the state. Harvesting over 90,000 tons of cherries each year, Michigan is the nation's leading producer of Prunus cerasus, tart cherries. The Montmorency cherry is the ...
References
{{cherries
Cherry cultivars
Sour cherries
Flora of Hungary