Yield and fruit quality of sweet cherry grown on degraded soil | Prinos i kvalitet ploda trešnje na degradiranom zemljištu

This study presents four-year results on fruit yield and quality of sweet cherry cv. Sunburst grown in the vinicity of Cacak (Serbia). The sweet cherry planting was established in autumn 2003 on Colt rootstock at a spacing of 4.5 x 3.5 m (635 trees/ha). Sweet cherry trees were trained as modified spindle bush. The physical and chemical properties of the soil used in the experiment were poorer than those found un the related literature in terms of intensive sweet cherry production. Given the above, the objective of this study was to evaluate the potential for intensive cultivation of sweet cherry cv. Sunburst on the soil having poor physical and chemical properties, focusing on vegetative growth, yield and major fruit pomological properties. A total of 24 trees of cv. Sunburst (6 trees x 4 replications) were studied from the fourth through to the seventh year after planting. Typical management practices were used in the experiment. No irrigation was employed. Summer pruning was generally used. The first fruit was harvested in the third year after planting, and significant yield was produced in the fourth year. Vegetative growth and yield components, as well as major pomological and chemical traits of sweet cherry fruit were studied. Results showed that trunk cross sectional area increased during the study within a range of 24.02 square cm in the fourth year to 57.14 square cm in the seventh year. Moreover, yield per tree increased significantly from the fourth year (4.76 kg) until the seventh year (10.77 kg) or from 3.02 to 6.84 t/ha. Yield coefficient varied over the years from 0.176 kg/square cm until 0.225 kg/square cm in the fifth and sixth years after planting, respectively. Cumulative yield was 29.36 kg per tree or 18.64 t/ha. As for fruit weight, statistically significant differences were observed among years; the values ranged from 7.39 g in the fourth to 9.58 g in the sixth year after planting. Average soluble solids were 14.17 deg Brix, total acids 0.42%, and ripening index 33.74 units. Results suggest that cv. Sunburst grown on Colt rootstock on degraded soil had regular bearing, limited yield and highly satisfactory fruit quality traits.