Renewal pruning strategies for 'Montmorency' tart cherry on dwarfing rootstocks

B. Black, S. Hansen
Tart cherry growers in the US are looking for strategies to get earlier returns on investment in orchard establishment. High density orchards are under evaluation for over-the-row harvest. These high density systems will require strategies for renewal pruning and for reduced pruning costs. The response of high-density tart cherry trees to renewal pruning cuts and to summer hedging were evaluated. Initial results indicate that stub cuts 10 cm long or longer will result in the generation of at least one replacement shoot. Summer hedging of new growth at 45 days after full bloom results in the development of short fruiting laterals that give fruit yields similar to unhedged controls. Both of these strategies will need further evaluation to be incorporated into high density training and pruning practices.
Black, B. and Hansen, S. (2018). Renewal pruning strategies for 'Montmorency' tart cherry on dwarfing rootstocks. Acta Hortic. 1228, 117-120
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1228.17
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1228.17
Prunus cerasus, high density orchard, mechanization
English

Acta Horticulturae