By DAN WHEAT

Capital Press

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A Yakima tree fruit nursery has exclusive North American commercialization rights to a new cherry-plum hybrid that is being promoted in Europe and Turkey.

Brandt's Fruit Trees Inc., Yakima, as sole North American member of Associated International Group of Nurseries (AIGN), has the rights to the Nadia, a cherry-plum first bred in Australia, said Lynnell Brandt, president of Brandt's Fruit Trees.

UNIVEG Katope UK, Spalding, UK, a member of UNIVEG Group of Belgium, announced March 19 that it obtained an exclusive license from AIGN for marketing the cherry-plum in Europe and Turkey.

"It is a fantastic tasting fruit and quite unlike anything else currently available," Richard Issacs, of UNIVEG Katope, said in a news release.

"Some other cherry-plum hybrids we've seen in the past have had very pale flesh and no cherry flavor, but Nadia delivers on appearance and taste," Issacs said.

The fruit reportedly has extremely high levels of antioxidants and stores well. UNIVEG will have access to Nadia from orchards in Australia and will begin selling it in UK stores in January 2014.

The UNIVEG Group is a worldwide supplier of fresh produce with 4,500 employees in numerous countries.

UNIVEG Katope UK has production, packing and marketing rights, Brandt said.

Brandt's Fruit Trees harvested a few pounds of Nadia last season from 3-year-old test plots near Wapato and will continue testing the fruit this season, said Alan Taylor, marketing director for Brandt.

Several other companies, under agreements with Brandt, are testing Nadia on the West Coast, Brandt said.

It likely will be up to eight years before fruit is commercially available from West Coast plantings, Taylor said.

Nadia is a varietal name and a new trademark name is being developed, he said.

Brandt Fruit Trees will handle propagation but may assign growing and marketing to other entities with approval of AIGN, Brandt said.

"We think it has a lot of potential," he said. "It is an extremely good eating fruit that is quite unique."