GROWTH AND YIELD OF ELEVEN SWEET CHERRY CULTIVARS IN CENTRAL POLAND

Eleven sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars were evaluated from 1994 to 2004: ‘Valera’, ‘Victor’, ‘Vista’, ‘Venus’, ‘Summit’ and ‘Lapins’ from Canada; ‘Vanda’ and ‘Techlovan’ from the Czech Republic; ‘Regina’ from Germany; ‘Rainier’ from the United States; and ‘Red Büttner’s’ as control. Among the late-ripening cultivars, ‘Vanda’, ‘Rainier’, ‘Regina’ and ‘Lapins’ have the greatest potential for commercial production in Central Poland. This is because of the high yield efficiency of the trees, as well as very good fruit quality. The commercial value of ‘Techlovan’, in the mid-ripening period, was very high; however, sometimes this was reduced by its high susceptibility to rain-induced fruit cracking.