Sweet Cherry Cultivars Vary in Their Susceptibility to Spring Frosts

Abstract

Spring frosts can be a limiting factor for sweet cherry production and very little is known about frost susceptibility of new sweet cherry cultivars. This study reports on floral bud injury of a number of recently introduced sweet cherry cultivars after 10 spring frosts in Apr. 2008. Floral buds at the first white stage were collected from late-ripening sweet cherry cultivars that were part of a randomized and replicated evaluation block. Blossoms were selected from various positions within a tree in a 1-m band centered around 1.5 m above the ground. The blossoms were brought into the laboratory, cut open, and placed into two groups: live (green) or dead (brown or browning) pistil. ‘Staccato’ and ‘Sentennial’ were the least affected followed by ‘Lapins’ and ‘Sweetheart’. ‘Sovereign’ was most susceptible to the subfreezing temperatures in the spring of 2008. There was a reasonably good relationship between the percentage of live buds per tree in the spring and yield at harvest later in the summer.