CHARACTERIZATION OF PRUNUS-AVIUM L VARIETIES WITH PHENOLIC-COMPOUNDS

Phenolic compounds of 23 sweet cherry varieties, including some local selections of the same variety, were analyzed to check their identity or distinctness. The compounds were extracted from the inner bark of o ne year old shoots and separated by HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chro matography). The high discriminatory potential of phenolic compounds f or variety identification could be shown. Even different origins of th e same variety could be identified. The results of the polyphenol anal ysis showed in many cases good accordance with morphological classific ation, whereas for a few varieties a revised nomenclature seems to be necessary.