PERFORMANCE OF V-TRAINED CHERRY ORCHARD WITH NEW DWARF ROOTSTOCKS

Twenty clonal rootstocks for the sweet cherry cvs. ‘Van’ and ‘Lapins’ are being tested in a trial begun in winter 1992–1993 and ‘Van’ alone, grafted to ten new, mostly dwarfing rootstocks is being assayed in a second trial begun in February 1994. The planting density, based on expected tree vigour, varies in the first trial from 1330 trees/ha (or 6 x 1.25 m spacing) to 1670 trees/ha (6 x 1 m spacing) and in the second remains only at the higher density.
The training system in both trials is a side-profile ‘V’ shape, i.e. the trees are alternately inclined along the row by about 25° with respect to the vertical.
The cropping data up to year 5 of orchard life for the first trial and up to year 4 for the second are discussed.

Despite severe frost damage to yield in 1996 and 1997, comparative field performance of the grafting combinations can still be assessed.
In trial 1, the first important response induced by the rootstocks regards vigour and cropping.
The semi-dwarfing Vladimir, CAB 6 P, Alpruma and Victor have exhibited a more promising response than have the dwarfers Camil and Damil as to early cropping and yield, although the latter scored a higher yield efficiency index as a result of their poor canopies.
The highest yield efficiency rating was registered by the Edabriz-‘Lapins’ combination; the interactive effect recorded for ‘Van’ was much lower.
Some vigorous rootstocks like Ma x Ma 14 and SL 64 have performed well as to cropping while others like Mazzard F 12/1 have shown poor yield efficiency; the stock-scion interaction enhanced the performance of the SL 64-‘Lapins’ combination.
Improved fruit quality as shown by the indicators weight and soluble solids appear linked to certain interaction effects, especially as evinced by Colt’s increasing size in ‘Lapins’ and by the dwarfing Edabriz and CNR 94 for soluble solids in both ‘Van’ and ‘Lapins’, Colt in ‘Lapins’ and Victor in ‘Van’. In trial 2 the dwarfing selections Gisela 1 and Gisela 5 and Weiroot 154 and the semi-dwarfing 158 exhibited more promise in years 3 and 4 of orchard life than the dwarfers in trial 1. The semi-dwarfing Weiroot 158 had yields comparable to and a higher yield efficiency index than Ma x Ma 14, Avima and CAB 6 P. Among the dwarfing Gisela stocks, Gisela 1 had the highest yield efficiency, Gisela 1 and 5 had the highest soluble solids and Gisela 5 and 10 the largest fruit size on ‘Van’.

III International Cherry Symposium

S. Sansavini, S. Lugli

Sweet cherry, rootstocks, high density planting

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1998.468.31