FRUIT DRY WEIGHT AND QUALITY OF 'BING' SWEET CHERRIES GROWN WITHOUT SOURCE LIMITATIONS

Abstract

Understanding the seasonal pattern of potential fruit growth is important for identification and timing of possible management operations, and quantification of this pattern is an important prerequisite to serve as input for crop growth models. `Bing? sweet cherry trees were heavily thinned at 63 degree-days (DD) (=8 days) after full bloom so weight and quality of the remaining fruit could be monitored under conditions of limiting and non-limiting carbohydrate supply. The effect of fruit thinning on mean shoot growth and trunk cross-sectional area also was analysed to detect possible translocation from reproductive to vegetative growth. Mean Fruit Dry Weight (MFDW) of tagged fruit was estimated weekly, based on fruit diameter, to identify the moment of the onset of competition between fruit within trees. At harvest, Fruit Number to Leaf Area Ratio (FNLAR, fruits m-2 LA) was 52% lower in heavily-thinned trees than in non-thinned trees. Yield per tree was higher (P