After a hiatus of four years, in a new organization and with the support of the Chamber of Agriculture, the Professional Cherry Day was organized in Erd Elvira Major. We heard about new Hungarian diverse candidates, suitable subjects for intensive farming and farming methods, and interventions against cracking.
The experimental farm is three years old, and staff from the MATE Horticultural Institute’s Fruit Growing Research Center are investigating rootstocks, noble root populations, and new cultivation methods.
It turns out that the breeding of cherries has greatly accelerated due to the activities of private breeders, and the requirements for new varieties have also changed. Zsuzsanna Bekefi from his performance.
the required size is at least 30 mm in diameter, firm and crunchy meat is important,
In the West it is about the sweet taste, the shelf life and that the fruits do not break. They try to create cherry varieties that can be picked as early or later as possible. The goal of breeders is self-fertility, which can cause problems in cultivation, because without thinning, the cherry can collapse. More and more attention is being paid to the trees’ cold requirements, which determine the climate in which this particular cherry variety can be grown successfully. There are varieties that require 170 or 1300 Refrigeration Units, the spokesperson explained the difference.
After the introduction of foreign breeding programmes, Zsuzsanna Békefi introduced the latest varieties of cherries bred in the Érd. the Pajaro Borlat Ripens after about a week Elvira and the Magdalena, both up to 30 mm in diameter, beautiful dark-skinned, braided cherries with firm flesh and a spicy aroma. In a week they will arrive Kira, this is also a large cherry, with firm pulp, sweet, aromatic. A special feature is the two colors, yellow and red butterfly, which produces exceptionally hard, sweet fruits in this category. Hybrids B / 109 and 16/77 are late ripening.
Caroly Hrutko Professor Emeritus explained the evolution of crown shapes in his presentation. For a long time, we’ve known that cherries don’t like pruning, but that statement has now been upended, and many more intense crown shapes have been developed.
With state-of-the-art cultivation methods, the most important goal being to maintain a tight crown that is both machine-grown and harvestable, these hedge-like trees require a support system.
We can also see two of them in the new experimental farm: the Y-row crown formation and the UFO. We are now trying it at home, which is very important because the success of the cultivation methods depends on the place of cultivation and the varieties. The professor also drew attention to the fact that in order to achieve the required amount of fruit, not only fruit parts are required, but also foliage, so a balanced and mixed exchange system must be left on the trees.
The basic rule is that 1.25 square meters of leaf surface is needed to grow one kilogram of cherries.
New crown forms also require new semi-dwarf growth rootstocks, which are widespread mainly in Western Europe, in humid climates, and in Mediterranean countries, medium-strong and vigorous rootstocks are used. in the experimental farm Gisela 6 And wiggy 2 Root grafts are being tested, the latter being a hybrid multiple rootstock that is also being tested internationally.
No breakthrough in preventing fruit cracking,
Tell Gregory Simon Department Head: This problem is most affected by the weather in the production place. In his own experiments, he studied the effect of various preparations on cherries.
With calcium-containing products, cracking was reduced by 20-30% if foliar fertilizers were applied 5-7 weeks before harvest.
But he warned that with so much calcium he “managed” to cause a potassium deficiency. Calcium improves the strength and elasticity of the cell wall, thus reducing the risk of fruit cracking. It is also appropriate to exclude the water with some substances or to make it drain faster than the fruit. Most often, they protect themselves from the rain with a foil cover, for which they have developed various and very expensive systems. Once you’ve built the support system that will hold the film, you can also cover the plantation with insect netting against spotted winged flies, bugs, and cherry flies.
On the farm, Károly Hrotkó and little red riding hood He made the first observations and answered the participants’ questions.
Our detailed report can be read in Issue 26 of Gardening & Viticulture.
