Irena is a cherry tree variety that has great conditions to combine with Regina, with which it also allows a perfect pollination, being completely similar to the pollinated variety where the harvest can be done without distinction.
According to what Paolo Laghi from the Italian company Battistini Vivai told Freshplaza.es, โcherry crops are expanding everywhere in the world, but especially in Europe, thanks to foreign investmentsโ.
The Battistini Vivai representative also emphasized about the Irena variety in question, asserting that, โthis variety is proving to be useful, not only as a pollinator of Regina, but also from the point of view of production. The fact that the two varieties have the same ripening characteristics, pendulum length and quality of the pulp allows them to be harvested without having to distinguish between themโ.
One of the peculiarities of Irena is its great sweetness, as well as its size, which varies between 28 to 32, depending upon production.
It should be noted that in order to get the best results in reference to pollination, 20% of Irena and 80% of Regina are planted, alternating a row of polarizing trees with four rows of plants that need to be pollinated. However, another way to plant is through the variant of the โcheckerboardโ.
Regarding the quality and quantity of the cultivation, Laghi indicated that: โThe large-scale cherry crop is being developed in countries with low workforce costs, but even in Italy, there are still good margins when choosing well the quality, cultivation method and densityโ.