Everything you need to learn about cultivating cherry organically. Learn about:- 1. Introduction to Cherry 2. Climate and Soil Required for Cherry Cultivation 3. Potential of Increasing Production 4. Propagation, Rootstocks and Planting 5. Training, Pruning and Canopy Management 6. Nutrient Management 7. Weed Management, Mulching and Soil Moisture Conservation 8. Harvesting and Yield 9. Varieties.
Contents:
- Introduction to Cherry
- Climate and Soil Required for Cherry Cultivation
- Potential of Increasing Production of Cherry
- Propagation, Rootstocks and Planting of Cherry
- Training, Pruning and Canopy Management of Cherry
- Nutrient Management of Cherry
- Weed Management, Mulching and Soil Moisture Conservation of Cherry
- Harvesting and Yield of Cherry
- Varieties of Cherry
1. Introduction to Cherry:
Cherry (Prunus avium) is a deciduous fruit mostly grown in India in Kashmir valley (J&K). Although it can be grown in high hills of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand but visible production is restricted to J&K and Himachal Pradesh only. The Exact figure of area being cultivated under cherry is not known, however, it is estimated that 2000 to 2500 hectares area is under cherry cultivation. Cherry is a rich source of protein, sugars and minerals and has more calorific value than apple. Due to high returns, cherry culture is gaining popularity in temperate regions of the country.
2. Climate and Soil Required for Cherry Cultivation:
Cherry essentially requires colder climate as it can be grown successfully only in areas between 2000-2700 m above mean sea level and it requires 1000- 1500 hr chilling period during winters. Cherry blossoms are very sensitive to spring frosts and thus frost-free areas are preferred for cherry cultivation.
An annual rainfall of 1000-1200mm is desirable however it must be distributed throughout the year. High rainfalls during flowering and fruit ripening are not conducive for cherry cultivation, as flowers get damaged and fruits crack with onset of rains. Ripening period should be dry.
Well drained, deep sandy loam soils with pH 6.5 to 7.0 and which have good soil moisture retaining capacity in summers are suitable for cherry cultivation. Cherry plants also require soil free of water logging and heavy soils should be avoided. The sweet cheery is more sensitive than the sour cherry to both heat and cold. It’s also not adapted to the areas having high temperature and low humidity.
3. Potential of Increasing Production of Cherry:
There is a good potential for increasing cherry production in J&K and H.P. state. This can be achieved by introducing above mentioned improved varieties, grafted on dwarfing rootstock like Colt and selecting frost free areas in following districts.
Above mentioned areas need to be planted with improved sweet cherry varieties. Also by providing adequate cultivation practices like nutrition and irrigation at critical stages of fruit set and fruit development and by providing adequate number of beehives for sufficient pollination, productivity can be enhanced.
4. Propagation, Rootstocks and Planting of Cherry:
Prunus cerosoides (Paja) is commonly used as rootstock for cherry in hilly states, but it has failed due to delayed incompatibility. Seedlings of mahaleb (Primus mahaleb) are presently used as rootstock for cherry.
Seeds of Prunus cerosoides (Paja) do not require chilling treatment to break dormancy but seeds of mahaleb (Prunus mahaleb) and mazzard require stratification before sowing by placing the seeds between the layers of moist sand in a cool place at 2°C-4°C for 80-120 days for mahaleb and 120-150 days for mazzard to break dormancy.
As the embryonic roots come out from the seed coat, these are transplanted at 6 cm deep, 10-15 cm apart in rows spaced at 20-25 cm in nursery bed. As the seedlings attain pencil thickness, these are grafted using tongue grafting technique. Clonal rootstock Colt has also been found very promising. This rootstock is recommended for raising dwarf sweet cherry plantations on large scale.
Colt clonal rootstock is semi dwarf, compatible with most sweet cherry varieties, has good anchorage and is resistant to gummosis. Stool layering is common method of multiplication for this rootstock. Colt rootstock can be multiplied through cuttings also. Hard wood cuttings are taken in February and planted in nursery beds in lines and these are grafted with scion of appropriate variety in March next year using tongue grafting method. Mazzard F12/1 is semi-vigorous but is difficult to root.
Planting:
In hilly areas, cherry is planted in contour or in terraces. In valley areas square system of planting is adopted. Plants on seedling rootstock are planted at a spacing of 6m x 6m, however on Colt rootstock a spacing of 4m x 4m or 5m x 2.5 m is also adopted under conventional management. But high density planting is not advisable under organic management and therefore, plant spacing’s of 6m x 6m or 6m x 5m or 6m x 4m for grafted cherry plants on Colt rootstock will be most suitable.
Ideal spacing for plants on seedling rootstock can be 6m x 7m or 6m x 8m under organic management system. As usual pits of the size 1m x 1m x 1m are dug and while digging, top soil of the pit is kept on one side and mixed with 30-35 kg FYM and 50g each of Trichoderma viride and Pseudomonas fluorescens. Planting is usually done in December-January.
Pollination:
Most of the cherry varieties are self-sterile, thus they need cross pollination. However, there are many cross incompatible groups also and varieties with in a group should not be planted together. Care has to be taken to see that not only their flowering period overlaps but also they should not have same sterility alleles.
However universal donor varieties like Stella, Vista etc. can be planted with any variety provided their flowering period coincides. Therefore, for achieving maximum pollination, planting should be done in such a way that plants of one variety face the different variety in planting arrangement.
5. Training, Pruning and Canopy Management of Cherry:
For development of a strong framework of the tree, modified leader system of training is usually adopted. Plants are headed back at about 60-80 cm at the time of planting. The central leader is retained and 3-5 wide angled branches, 20-25cm apart spirally around the tree are selected in first dormant pruning.
The lowest branch should be 40-60 cm above the ground level. The selected scaffold branches are headed back to minimum. The second dormant pruning is also followed in the same manner and on each main scaffold well-spaced 3-4 secondary branches are selected.
After 3-4 years central leader is headed back and lateral branches are allowed to grow. This practice of training results in the strong development of tree frame work. Pruning is restricted to eliminating the dead, diseased and criss crossing branches. Since cherry plants bear fruits on spurs of one year old shoots and average productive life of such spurs is 10-12 years, therefore cherry trees require less spur renewal pruning.
Irrigation:
Cherry is usually grown under rainfed conditions. The most crucial stage for fruit development is in April- May, when irrigation at an interval of 10-15 days is necessary for better fruit size and quality.
6. Nutrient Management of Cherry:
Cherry trees at yield levels of about 4-5 tons/ha remove approximately 70 kg N, 20 kg P2O5 and 100 kg K2O, out of which nearly 70% of N can be returned back to the orchard in the form of leaves, flowers and thinned fruits, which can be ploughed back to the orchard soil directly.
While in case of potash nearly 40% is permanently lost in the form of harvested fruits but in case of calcium and magnesium, although removal is almost 60 kg and 20 kg respectively but over 90% is returned to the orchard soil through fallen leaves, flowers, fruits and prunings.
This removal pattern is to be kept in mind while calculating the need for nutrient management from external sources. As organic farming system relies more on feeding the soil rather than feeding the plants, thus in nutrient management major stress is laid on recycling of biomass.
Therefore entire biomass from fallen leaves, flowers, fruits, prunings, weeds and cover crops need to be used as mulch and treated with Jivamrit. This needs to be done at least 3-4 times in a year during December, late February and May-June. Application of dolomite @ 2.5 tons/ha once in 2-3 years compensates the loss of calcium and magnesium. Cover crops grown in interspaces need to be mowed down and incorporated in the soil.
Clover (Trifolium) or any other suitable legume crop can be grown as green manure in the alleys or interspaces with very high seed rate. This will not allow any space for weeds to emerge. Once the crop is about 8-10 inches it should be incorporated in the soil. Considering the biomass recycled, and the nutrients being recycled, the short fall is calculated and applied as combination of various organic inputs.
Normally if entire orchard biomass is recycled and at least two cycles of cover crop are used as green manure, only 40-50% of nitrogen and 60% of potash is to be replenished. Recommendations of fertilizers under conventional management may also be considered for calculating the nutrient needs from organic sources.
Normally under conventional management full grown cherry plants are provided with 40-50 kg FYM along with 500 gm nitrogen, 250 gm P2O5 and 600 gm K2O per plant per year. Entire quantity of FYM, P and K are applied in December. 50% dose of nitrogen is applied before flowering and remaining 50% is applied a month later.
Keeping all above in mind two organic nutrient management schedules are suggested, one for rainfed slopes with limited water availability and another for plains with adequate irrigation availability. Considering the nutrient release pattern by the manures and requirement of nutrients by plants at different stages, plants are provided with manures as soil application and foliar feeding as aerial spray on leaves.
Foliar feeding solution comprises of Vermiwash (5%) or Panchagavya (3%) or farm made protein hydrolysate (4-5 ml/lit of water). Any one or combination of two or all can be used depending upon the requirement.
7. Weed Management, Mulching and Soil Moisture Conservation of Cherry:
The basins of cherry plants are kept clean by hand weeding. Mulching the tree basins in April with 10-15 cm thick layer of biomass has been found very helpful in controlling weeds and conserving soil moisture. Cherry orchards are maintained under permanent sod i.e. spaces in between the basins of trees are covered with permanent sod.
Green manuring crops namely beans, peas, red and white clover are also grown in tree basins to improve soil texture and fertility. While taking cover and green manuring crops their nutrient and pest management requirements must be accounted for in overall management strategy.
8. Harvesting and Yield of Cherry:
Season of availability of cherry is very limited. The cherries are available during May- June. Color development, T.S.S etc. are the main criteria for harvest. Fresh fruits are picked with sterms. Cherry fruits are usually packed in 5 kg wooden boxes lined with paper. Shelf life of cherries is also very short. It can be kept for a period of 7-10 days under proper temperature controlled conditions. The yield in cherries in India varies from 3 to 3.5 tons/ha.
9. Varieties of Cherry:
Most of the cultivated varieties of cherry being grown have been derived from two species; namely, the sour cherry (Prunus cerasus) from which both the light and dark coloured sour cherries have developed, and the sweet cherry (Primus avium) from which the sweet varieties have arisen.
Some of the common varieties that are cultivated in Jammu and Kashmir are as follow:
Guigne Pourpova Precece (Aval Number), Black Heart (Sohja Gole), Early Purple Black Heart, Guigne Noir Hative (Makhmali), Bigarreau Napolean (Double), Bigarreau Noir Gross (Misri), Guigne Noir and Gross Lucenta.
Important varieties grown in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are:
Black Tartarian, Bing, Napoleon White, Sam, Seu, Stella, Van, Lambert, Black Republican, Pink Early, Lapins, Sunburst, White Heart, Early Rivers and CITH Cherry 01 and CITH Cherry 02, Bedford Prolific, Black Heart and Governor’s Wood.
The productivity of cherry in India is very low at about 3 tons/ha. But in some locations in J&K like Kupwara and Pulwama productivity of the order of 6 to 9 tons is being obtained. Main reasons of low productivity are susceptibility to spring frosts and problem of fruit set due to self-incompatibility and cross incompatibility.
Many of the varieties grown in J&K state have severe problem of fruit set in sweet cherry due to self and cross incompatibility and considering these problems some improved varieties of sweet cherry which can be cultivated in J&K are –
Lambert, Sunburst, Bing, Stella, Black Tartarian, Napolean, Lapins, CITH Cherry 01 and CITH Cherry 02.