FLOWERING, PRODUCTION AND FRUIT QUALITY OF ELEVEN SWEET CHERRY CULTIVARS IN CENTRAL CHILE

Production efficiency and fruit quality of ‘Brooks’, ‘Lapins’, ‘Bing’, ‘Sweetheart’, ‘Stella’, ‘Cristalina’, ‘Santina’, ‘Garnet’, ‘Newstar’, ‘Summit’ and ‘Sylvia’ sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) on ‘Pontaleb’ (P. mahaleb L.) rootstock in the 4^th and 5^th leaf were determined at a grower’s experimental (1481 trees/ha) orchard in Central Chile (33°52’ S and 70°41’ W at 700 m altitude). Flowering dates, floral density and intensity were determined.
Cumulative production in 2003 and 2004 ranged from 1.6 t/ha for ‘Summit’ to 61.7 t/ha for ‘Sweetheart’. Production efficiency ranged from 3.5 to 200 g/cm² trunk cross-sectional area (TCA), with higher levels for ‘Sweetheart’, ‘Lapins’, ‘Santina’ and ‘Stella’ (self fertile cultivars). During the second season, this index ranged from 8.2 g/cm² TCA in ‘Summit’ to 243 g/cm² in ‘Lapins’. Fruit quality measures included fruit weight, firmness, soluble solids, acidity, cracking incidence and bird damage.
This is part of a study of sweet cherry productivity and quality potential with modern techniques in locations with different winter chilling accumulations.

V International Cherry Symposium

E. Gratacós, A. Cortés, M. Kulczewski

Prunus avium, bloom date, floral density, fruit set, fruit weight, firmness, cracking

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2008.795.48