Impact of the 'Gisela 5' Rootstock on the Yield and the Fruit Quality of Mature Cherry Trees

摘要

The productivity and the economic efficiency of the sweet cherry production can be enhanced by its intensification based on dwarfing rootstocks. Today a candidate for a leader amongst the dwarfing rootstocks is 'Gisela 5'. Unfortunately, it cannot fully meet the expectations yet, because of the widely spread opinion that the dwarfing rootstocks are not suitable in more arid conditions, on poor and light soils. Objectives of the present publication are the yield and the fruit quality of mature cherrytrees. The investigation was carried out at the Fruit-Growing Institute of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in the period 2015-2017.The sweet cherry plantation was established in the spring of 2001 at 4 * 2 m planting distances. The cultivars 'Bigarreau Burlat', 'Lapins' and 'Regina' were studied during their fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth vegetation (2015-2017) under drip irrigation, fertigation and winter pruning. Fruit quality was evaluated by measuring their mass, height, width and thickness.The yield of the studied cultivars was estimated as well. Obtained results unambiguously proved the great potential of the dwarfing rootstock under the conditions of conceptually new technology for the cherry crop management, revising almost thoroughly basic practices as pruning, irrigation, and fertilization.