Performance of Elderberry Cultivars Growing in the Czech Republic

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) is an underutilized crop on commercial fruit farms in the Czech Republic. Although the species is native, elderberry has not been grown commercially there, despite its great potential. Currently, there is interest among organic growers in growing elderberry as a complementary crop. Interest in elderberry blossoms and fruits has also been expressed by both domestic and foreign processing industries. A unique, experimental collection of elderberry in terms of cultivar numbers was developed at the Research and Breeding Institute of Pomology Holovousy Ltd. In 2009, the cultivars 'Albida', 'Alles', 'Aurea', 'Bohatka', 'Dana', 'Haschberg', 'Heidegg 13', 'Korsor', 'Mammut', 'Pregarten', 'Riese aus Voaloch', 'Sambo', 'Sambu', 'Samdal', 'Sampo', 'Samyl' and 'Weihenstephan' were planted. During ensuing years, this collection has been gradually supplemented with other cultivars including 'Juicy', 'Tulbing' and 'Weisser Holunder'. Some of these cultivars were obtained from neighbouring countries, which have grown and carried out the research on this crop for a long time and have similar natural and climatic conditions. Vegetative and fruit characteristics of the different cultivars were evaluated under the conditions in the Czech Republic. Based on our findings, suitable elderberry cultivars were recommended for growers.