Rolan

Rolan is a premium, certified, and commercially exceptionally successful Dutch redcurrant variety, Ribes rubrum, developed at the renowned research institute in Wageningen, the Netherlands, through planned crossing of Fay’s Prolific and the hybrid Rosetta. Due to its exceptionally long clusters, uniform ripening of all berries, and record-breaking yields per unit area, it is considered one of the best and most profitable medium-early redcurrant varieties throughout Europe and in our region.

It is a fully self-fertile variety. It is characterized by an exceptionally high level of self-pollination and abundant, stable flowering, so it reliably produces maximum yields in pure single-variety orchards without any need for other pollinator varieties in the planting. It is an excellent universal pollinator for all other redcurrant varieties. It flowers medium-early to medium-late, and the flowers are very attractive to bees and show high natural resistance to late spring frosts.

The shrub is medium to vigorous, with strong, firm, elastic, and strictly upright shoots that form a stable, compact, and long-lived bush reaching 1.2 to 1.5 meters in height, which does not lodge under the weight of the crop. It enters the fruiting stage very early, as early as the second year after planting, and produces regular, stable, extremely high, and record-breaking yields per hectare. It forms recognizable, exceptionally long, loose, and richly filled clusters arranged on long stems, making them easy to see and pick.

It belongs to the group of medium-early redcurrant varieties. In our region and under continental climatic conditions, it ripens in mid- to late June, usually only a few days after the earliest Dutch variety Jonkheer van Tets, at the very peak of the raspberry harvest season.

Harvesting takes place in the second half of June and in early July. One of the greatest pomological advantages of this variety is the exceptionally uniform and simultaneous ripening of all berries within the long cluster, with the base and tip of the cluster ripening at the same time. This botanical trait enables fast, easy, and efficient hand harvesting of whole clusters, while the variety is also fully mechanically adapted to machine harvesting with dedicated harvesters and shakers, without the risk of fruit cracking.

It is characterized by excellent storage ability and post-harvest keeping quality. In fresh condition, it can be successfully kept in cold storage for 7–14 days. Due to the exceptional firmness and elasticity of the berries, it tolerates picking, sorting, packing, and long-distance transport to foreign markets perfectly, without any risk of crushing or juice leakage in plastic containers. It is primarily intended for luxury fresh table consumption on domestic and European markets, thanks to its attractive and visually impressive long clusters, but it is also exceptional for industrial processing into premium juices, syrups, jams, jellies, marmalades, as well as for large-scale deep freezing as whole-fruit “rolend” quality.

The berry is large for redcurrant, with an average weight of around 0.7–0.9 g, exceptionally uniform within the clusters, and regular in its round shape, arranged in long and attractive strings. The skin is firm, thin, smooth, and distinctly glossy, with a bright red to ruby-red color. The flesh is light red, firm, compact, and very juicy. The taste is outstanding and exceptionally refreshing, characterized by a fine acidic tone perfectly balanced with high sugar content, a high level of vitamin C, and a pleasant aroma that lingers for a long time. After full ripening, the berries separate cleanly, dry, and easily from the stem without damaging the flesh.

It is characterized by high genetic resistance to leaf diseases, and it also has high resistance to American powdery mildew, allowing it to retain a healthy leaf canopy until late autumn. This trait makes it an ideal variety for organic and ecological production without the use of aggressive chemical protection in commercial plantings and home gardens. It tolerates harsh winter frosts and low temperatures during dormancy exceptionally well, withstanding temperatures down to -25°C without damage.

The root system is surface-level, shallow, and distinctly fibrous, which makes redcurrant highly sensitive to summer drought and high temperatures. It requires fertile, humus-rich, moderately moist, lighter, and well-drained soils with a slightly acidic reaction, along with mandatory provision of regular irrigation, preferably a drip irrigation system, during June, July, and August, so that berries in later ripening waves do not remain small and shriveled on the shrub. In lowland areas, the installation of shade nets is recommended in order to prevent leaf scorch during hot summer days. The shrub renews and spreads naturally very well by forming new strong basal shoots every year.

Our redcurrant fruit plants are produced exclusively by vegetative propagation, by rooting mature cuttings under controlled conditions from healthy mother plantations, and are supplied as own-rooted plants. This guarantees complete varietal purity, virus-free quality, and long shrub life.