Fruit ripening and harvest.

This chapter provides information on the processes that occur in the sweet cherry fruit during ripening prior to harvest. Some pre-harvest disorders, such as fruit cracking, and their management are presented. Some factors to consider during the harvesting of the fruits are also discussed, along with various harvesting techniques. Some postharvest fruit quality considerations are highlighted and the importance of postharvest temperature and humidity control and safe transport of fruits from the orchard to the packing house are pointed out.

Sweet cherry training systems.

Training systems should be considered to be dynamic and continuously developing, as every grower and orchard site is different, with inherent traits that lead to subtle modifications of initial ideas and training concepts that can significantly affect their ultimate degree of success. This chapter will address more than a dozen potential sweet cherry canopy training systems. It provides a discussion of some of the key cherry training techniques and concepts, and particular benefits and limitations, to help growers determine how they might adopt or mix-and-match training systems for their goals, cultivars, rootstocks, orchard sites and labor situations.

Planning a new cherry orchard.

Growing fruit trees is a long term financial commitment and establishing an orchard is an expensive enterprise. Selecting the right orchard site is arguably the most important decision that a sweet cherry grower will make and it will affect all other managerial decisions related to the orchard. Choosing the wrong site can affect both fruit yield and quality, and ultimately the financial viability of the operation. On the other hand, choosing a good site will reduce expenses and increase profits. Properly evaluating a prospective orchard location, determining available resources and establishing the orchard takes careful planning. This chapter focuses on important factors in planning a new cherry orchard, including economics and site evaluation (climatic conditions, topography, soil characteristics, soil analysis, water availability and quality, access to key auxilliary facilities, and environmental impact).

The future of cherry production.

This chapter provides information on significant contribution of various advances in horticultural production technologies, including electronic sensing, autonomous orchard equipment, machine learning and artificial intelligence and robotics to future cherry production trends. New challenges due to invasive species, climate change and the ever unpredictable geopolitical landscape are also discussed.

Managing orchard pests.

This chapter provides information on the various economically important insect and arthropod pests causing damage to cherry production, such as Rhagoletis indifferens, Drosophila suzukii, Choristoneura rosaceana, Tetranychus urticae and Caliroa cerasi, among others. Notes on their life cycle, damage and management methods are also presented.

Managing the orchard environment.

This chapter focuses on the importance of managing the orchard environment for a sustainable sweet cherry production, i.e. fertilizer application, irrigation and crop-weed competition, among others. The influence of some climate-related environmental factors on sweet cherry production are also discussed.

Orchard establishment and production.

This chapter focuses on designing the orchard, site preparation, orchard structures, nursery tree source selection, successful pollination, planting and the use of plant growth regulators in cherry production.

Trends in sweet cherry production.

This chapter focuses on the global trend of sweet cherry production. It covers the economics, crop yield, crop quality and organic production. As sweet cherry production continues to expand worldwide, each producer must decide whether to increase production (either through the renovation of old orchards or expansion into new sites), continue at a steady pace or decrease acreage and thus reduce risk but also yields. Since growing cherries is a high risk venture, the best way to proceed will depend on past successes and failures, perceived risks, the possibilities for mitigating those risks and future market potential.

Sweet cherry rootstocks.

All commercial sweet cherry trees are either budded or grafted. This chapter deals with sweet cherry rootstocks. Rootstocks are used for several purposes: (i) ease for propagating and producing more trees of a superior cultivar; (ii) better adaptation to particular soil or site characteristics; and (iii) the potential improvement of production due to additional traits like precocious flowering, higher productivity, and greater or reduced scion vigor as appropriate. Unfortunately, no one rootstock can satisfy all the requirements for consistently producing high yields of large, firm fruit of premium quality. Growers are advised to consider carefully the effects of each specific scion-rootstock combination as a function of environmental and cultural practices when replanting an orchard. Selecting the proper rootstock depends not only on the management skills of the grower, but also on the scion cultivar, training system, and site climate and soil selected for the orchard. Dwarfing, semi-dwarfing and even semi-vigorous rootstocks have major economic advantages over full-size rootstocks. The development of these new, precocious rootstocks has been almost as significant to the sweet cherry industry as to the apple industry several decades ago. When compared to Mazzard, Colt and even Mahaleb, size-controlling rootstocks have allowed sweet cherry growers an opportunity to plant high density, pedestrian orchards that become profitable more quickly, are more readily protected with orchard covering systems, and promote greater labor efficiency, easier management, and a safer and more productive work environment.

Cherry flowering, fruiting and cultivars.

This paper discusses the flowering and fruiting habit, cultivar pollen compatibility, pollination and fertilization of cherries. The major sweet cherry cultivars and their characteristics are described, including their key attributes for fresh markets.