THE POSSIBILITY OF USING 'OBLACINSKA' SOUR CHERRY AS A ROOTSTOCK OR INTERSTOCK IN HIGH-DENSITY SWEET CHERRY PLANTINGS

The concept of high-density planting usually relies upon the use of low-vigour rootstocks and interstocks. The sour cherry cultivar 'Oblacinska', which is indigenous to Yugoslavia, is approximately 50% less vigorous than the standard sour cherry cultivars. The objective of the work described in this paper was to study the possibility of using 'Oblacinska' sour cherry as a rootstock for the establishment of high-density sweet cherry plantings.

Studies on 'Burlat', 'Yunskaya Rannyaya' and 'Stark Hardy Giant' on 'Oblacinska' sour cherry rootstocks or interstocks, which were conducted over five years, showed that the trees were less vigorous, came into bearing earlier and produced heavy and regular crops of good-quality fruits. The use of 'Oblacinska' sour cherry on its own roots as a sweet cherry rootstock (1,000 trees per hectare) is recommended for home gardens and smaller commercial plantings. Staking, pruning and sucker removal are necessary. For more extensive plantings at slightly lower tree densities (666 trees/ha) 'Oblacinska' sour cherry should be used as an interstock (50–80 cm long). Winter and summer pruning should be combined to achieve a more compact crown.

Sweet cherry yields per hectare with 'Oblacinska' sour cherry used as rootstock and interstock amounted to 27–31 t and 28–41 t, respectively.