High Tunnel Sweet Cherry Production Systems: Season Extension -2010 Progress Report

摘要

Our original IFTA High Tunnel Cherry project began in 2005 and was completed in 2009. A new two-year project, with new objectives, was proposed and funded in 2010. The objective of this new focus is to study harvest season extension technologies. Thehypotheses to be tested include: 1. Optimization of heat unit accumulation for earlier flowering, growth and harvest will be related more to quantification of solar radiation (sunny days) than to daily outdoor air temperatures;2. Optimization of heat unit accumulation (and prevention of supra-optimal temperatures) will require strategic management using daily environmental set-points for opening and closing tunnels.