Shiny red cherries

Light reflection between 350 nm and 800 nm of four sweet cherry cultivars w as measured to examine the glossiness and degree of red colouring of mature fruit. The cultivars examined were the black matt cv. 3/48, the dark red m att cv. Nabigos, the red glossy cv. Namosa and the red very glossy cv. Favo rit and, for comparative purposes, the yellow-red cv. Celeste. All cherry f ruit examined reflected between 0.1 and 38% of incident light depending on wavelength with a uniform light reflection pattern: The reflection of matur e cherries was less than 1% at wavelengths between 350 nm and 575 nm and th en increased with a broad peak of 7% for the matt dark red cv. 3/48 to 33% for the bright red cv. Namosa between 700-778 nm depending on cultivar. The rate and magnitude of this increase between 585 nm and 700 nm may serve as indicator of red colour with a potential for maturation and cultivar ident ification. An early and fast increase was associated with a bright red, and a late and slow increase with dark cherry fruit. The chlorophyll trough at 667 nm of immature green fruit had disappeared from the mature cherry frui t.