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Sour cherries become more popular due to their food value. Therefore sour cherries could be a profitable crop for fruit growers in Latvia. Information about sour cherry response to soil moisture adjustment is needed, because based on previous studies it is not possible to predict the influence of irrigation and mulch on sour cherry growing. The trial was carried out at the Latvia State Institute of Fruit Growing in 2007 to determine the effect of soil moisture adjustment on the growth of different sour cherry cultivars. Woodchip mulch and drip irrigation were used as main factors, cultivars 'Bulatnikovskaya', 'Desertnaya Morozovoi', 'Latvijas Zemais', 'Orlica', 'Shokoladnica', 'Tamaris', 'Zentenes' were used as a secondary factor. Vegetative growth, branching angles of lateral shoots, proportions of pruned shoots, spurs and twigs were determined to characterize the response of cultivars to mulching and irrigation. In general use of drip irrigation increased vegetative growth of sour cherries, but the use of woodchip mulch decreased this growth. Branching angles were wider in variant with woodchip mulch. Cultivar 'Zentenes' most positively responded to use of woodchip mulch and drip irrigation.

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