Sour cherry is one of the most important horticultural crops in the Hungarian market. Its flavour combination makes it ideal for fresh consumption as well as canned products. The Hungarian and European markets have requested for new varieties to be introduced, making the evaluation of breeding and prebreeding material a crucial point. A total of 30 sour cherry accessions from the genebank collection were investigated for their potential inclusion into the breeding program. The main aim of the study was to identify candidates for future breeding programs, selecting their colour profiling and total polyphenolic content (TPC). This study follows the antioxidant activity of cherry species by determining the total content in polyphenols. Polyphenols are found in higher concentration in cherries when compared to other plants and have been identified as free radical scavengers, which are useful to prevent the occurrence of several diseases. Furthermore, TPC has been observed as a contributor of bitterness, acidity, colour, flavour, odour, and oxidative stability. The accessions were evaluated for their colour, fruit weight, flavour profile, firmness, and TPC. Colorimetric data were compared among four methods to illustrate to the Hungarian breeders which of the available approaches is the most accurate for sour cherry breeding. Results suggested that several accessions appear relevant for the breeding program, such as ‘Pipacs 1′, ‘Bosnyák’, ‘Hortenzia Királynője’, and ‘Mogyoródi Kései’. The total polyphenolic content was highest in ‘Pipacs1′ and lowest in ‘Kántorjánosi 3′. ‘Pipacs 1′ and ‘Hortenzia Királynője’ had interestingly high acidity content and light to very light fruit colours. ‘Bosnyák’ had a deep and dark colour with high soluble sugar content. ‘Mogyoródi Kései’ appears to have the biggest fruit. All mentioned varieties will be included in future breeding programs.

Sour cherry is one of the most important horticultural crops in Hungarian market. Its unique flavour combination makes it ideal for fresh consumption as canned products. The Hungarian and European market ask for new varieties to be introduced, making the evaluation of breeding and pre-breeding material very crucial. 30 sour cherry accession from the genebank collection were investigated for their potential to be included in the breeding program. The main aim of the study was to identify candidates for future breeding programs selecting their colour profiling, and polyphenolic content (TPC). The accessions were evaluated for their colour, fruit weight, flavour profile, firmness, and TPC. Colorimetric data were compared between four methods and indicate to Hungarian breeders which of the available is the most accurate for sour cherry breeding. Results suggested that several accessions appear important for the breeding program, such as ‘Pipacs 1’, ʿBosnyákʾ, ‘Hortenzia Királynője’ and ‘Mogyoródi Kései’. Total polyphenolic content was highest in ‘Pipacs1’ and lowest ‘Kántorjánosi 3’. ‘Pipacs 1’ and ‘Hortenzia Királynője’ had interesting high acidity content and light to very light fruit colour. ‘Bosnyák’ had deep and dark colour with high soluble sugar content. ‘Mogyoródi Kései’ appear to have the biggest fruit. All those varieties will be included in future breeding program.