INFLUENCE OF GENOTYPE, YEAR AND SOIL COMPOSITION ON SWEET CHERRY LEAF MINERAL COMPOSITION

The nutritional status of a cherry orchard located in the Bari district was monitored by leaf mineral composition. Leaf analyses were made over a period of 11 years, starting from the first growing season, for 13 sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars grafted onto 5 different rootstocks (P. avium seedling, P. cerasus, ‘Colt’, P. mahaleb and ‘F 12/1’ Mazzard). Foliar nutritional data also were complemented by soil mineral composition. Initial results have confirmed the great variability of leaf mineral composition due to genotype, year and rootstock, and that leaf levels appear to have little relation to soil levels of the examined elements.