INVESTIGATIONS ON CRACKING SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SWEET CHERRY CULTIVARS

Fruit cracking in response to rain at harvest time is a major factor limiting sweet cherry production in Germany.
In the tests reported here, 82 sweet cherry cultivars were investigated for cracking susceptibility.
The research found no connection between fruit firmness and cracking susceptibility.
Early varieties (those ripening in the second and third ripening week) were the least susceptible to cracking.
Cracking was influenced greatly by the presence of foliage, the root system, and by the fruit shape, in addition to water absorption through the fruit skin.
Outdoor investigations of cracking susceptibility were more reliable.
The least susceptible varieties were ‘Frühe Rote Meckenheimer’, ‘Annabella’, ‘Star’, ‘Starking Hardy Giant’ and ‘Regina’.

II International Cherry Symposium

I. Roser

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1996.410.52