EVALUATION OF SEMI-DWARFING ROOTSTOCKS FOR SWEET CHERRY ORCHARDS IN THE RHINE RIVER VALLEY (GERMANY)

Two rootstock trials were planted in 1997 and 1998, the first as a replant trial to compare sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) performance in fresh soil vs. an old cherry orchard.
Thus far, productivity on ‘Gisela 5^(S)’ (P. cerasus L. × P. canescens L.) has been outstanding at both sites, with good fruit size, therefore showing a good aptitude for replant soils. ‘Delbard^® Maxma 14’ (P. mahaleb L. × P. avium) had below average productivity and average fruit size.
This rootstock is interesting for tree vigour being about 30% less than trees on P. mahaleb. Vigour was reduced drastically on replant soils.
In other orchards in the region, ‘Maxma 14’ showed other disadvantages such as sensitivity to a bark tortrix (Laspeyresia woeberiana) and root asphyxiation. ‘PiKu 1^(S)’ (P. avium × (P. canescens × P. tomentosa)) was more vigorous than ‘Maxma 14’, but it had a higher productivity, combined with good vitality, on replant soils.
With yields comparable to ‘Gisela 6 ^(S)’ but with better anchorage, ‘Piku 1’ is actually the favourite in the middle Rhine valley to replace ‘Maxma 14’ as a semi-dwarfing rootstock. ‘Gisela 6^(S)’ (P. cerasus × P. canescens) had high productivity (but lower than ‘Gisela 5^(S)’) and exhibited good fruit size.
Vigour is distinctively stronger than ‘Gisela 5^(S)’. Nevertheless, a thunderstorm in 2003 blew down all ‘Gisela 6^(S)’ trees.

V International Cherry Symposium

M. Balmer

Prunus avium, P. mahaleb, Maxma, Gisela, PiKu, PHL, yield efficiency, fruit size, replant disease

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2008.795.27