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Essay on Cherry
Essay Contents:
- Essay on the Origin and History of Cherry
- Essay on the Area and Production of Cherry
- Essay on the Importance and Uses of Cherry
- Essay on the Choice of Varieties of Cherry
- Essay on the Insect-Pests of Cherry
- Essay on the Diseases of Cherry
- Essay on the Disorder of Cherry
Essay # 1. Origin and History of Cherry:
Cherries occupy unique position among temperate fruits. The cultivated cherries are divided into two main groups i.e. Sweet cherries (Primus avium L.) and Sour cherries (Prunus cerasus L.). The cultivation of sweet cherry has been taken up on a commercial scale in Kashmir Valley.
Cherries are considered natives of South East Europe and Asia Minor and as far east as northern India and China. The sweet cherry probably originated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, but birds seem to have carried it into Europe in ancient times.
Diverse forms of sour cherry exist in Eastern Europe and western region of erstwhile Soviet Union. On the basis of earliest records cherry was first domesticated in Greece around 300 B.C. It then spread to Italy and established as a fruit crop by 37 BC.
By Christ’s time it spread to England, Germany, Belgium and Portugal. Seeds of cherry were brought to North America by early settlers which eventually spread all over the northern parts and southern most parts of South America.
Essay # 2. Area and Production of Cherry:
The world production of cultivated cherry fruit is about 2.2 million tonnes. Europe produces 40 per cent of world production. Turkey, USA, Iran, Italy, Spain, Austria, Uzbekistan, Romania, Russia, Ukraine etc. are the leading cherry producing countries.
Cherry cultivation in India is confined to Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and hilly areas of Uttarakhand. Jammu and Kashmir is the mainly cherries growing state. The total area in this state is 3500 hectares with annual production of 10880 metric tonnes.
This state produces 70 per cent of total cherry production in India. In Himachal Pradesh, area under cherry growing is 500 hectares producing 900 metric tonnes annually. The higher reaches of Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Chamba, Kinnaur and Lahual-Spiti have emerged ideal for the cultivation of cherry.
Essay # 3. Importance and Uses of Cherry:
Cherries are rich in protein, sugars, carotene and folic acid. Its fruit is also rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc. Cherries contains 83.7% water, 1.2% protein, 0.2% fat, 3.7% fructose, 4.9% glucose, 280 mg potassium, 30 mg calcium, 12 mg magnesium, 0.4 mg iron, 18 mg vitamin C and 747 I.U carotene per 100 g of edible fruit.
The sweet cherry is mainly used for table purposes and also in canned fruit cocktails, bakery, confectionary, ice-cream, juice making, fruit salads and distilling liquor. The sour cherry is mainly used for processing purposes. The wine made from sour cherry is very popular. The fruits are largely preserved by canning, freezing and sun drying. Both fresh and frozen fruits are utilized for making cherry juice.
Essay # 4. Choice of Varieties of Cherry:
A large number of sweet cherry varieties have been tried out in the Shimla Hills, the Kulu Valley and the Kashmir Valley.
The varieties of sweet cherry grown in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are as follow:
i. Jammu and Kashmir:
Black Heart, Early Purple Black Heart, Bigarreau Napolean, Guigne Noir, Gross Lucenta, Guigne Noir Hative and Bigarreau Noir Gross, White Bigarreau, Bigarreau de Schrecken.
ii. Himachal Pradesh:
Bing, Stella, White Heart, Early Rivers, Napolean White, Sam, Van, Lambert, Sue, Black Republican, Emperor Francis, Black Tortarian.
iii. Uttarakhand:
Bedford Prolific, Black Heart, Governor Wood.
Brief description of important varieties is as follows:
a. Bedford Prolific:
Its skin is black. Flesh of good taste and flavoured. Ripens in middle of May. It is early flowering cultivar.
b. Early Rivers:
This is the finest early cherry cultivar which ripens in the beginning of May. Fruits are large, black, oval with a small stone. The pink flesh is deliciously flavoured. The bearing is usually moderate but regular. It is resistant to cracking.
c. Bigarreau Napolean:
Fruit is very large and handsome with red skin. Flesh firm, sweet and juicy. It ripens by the end of June. It is late variety. The average yield is 19 kg fruit/plant.
d. Governor Wood:
The fruits are large sized, heart shaped, light yellow with red cheek. The quality of white flesh is fair, soft and travels badly. It ripens during second week of May and needs to be picked green. It is regular prolific bearer variety. It is, however, very susceptible to brown rot.
e. Emperor Francis:
The fruit is large and dark red in colour having good keeping quality. It flowers early but otherwise a late cultivar. The tree is a regular and good bearer.
f. White Bigarreau:
The fruits are large in size with red skin. Flesh of very good taste. Ripens by the middle of May. Flowering mid-season.
g. Bigarreau De Schrecken:
Fruit is large-sized with black skin. Flesh sweet and of good quality and fine-flavoured. Ripens in the beginning of May. The fruit is susceptible to cracking in rain. Flowering mid-season.
h. Bing:
The fruit is of the highest quality but cracks readily in rain. The tree is upright and spreading and bears moderate to heavy crop of large fruits. The blossom buds are susceptible to low temperatures.
i. Early Purple Black Heart:
The tree is vigorous. Fruit is large, round and heart shaped. Skin is thick, fine red and blended with purple black. Pulp is fine and good. It ripens by the end of May and rated as good table variety.
Compact Lambert, Compact Stella, Salmo, Jubilee, Kristin, Van, Viscount, Montmorency, Meteor, North Star, English Morello, Early Richmond and CITH Cherry-1 and 2 are some leading new cultivars of cherry.
Essay # 5. Insect-Pests of Cherry:
1. Black Cherry Aphid (Myzus Cerasi):
Aphid attacks the leaves as soon as the bud burst and they continue to feed as long as the growth remains succulent. Infested leaves of sweet cherry curl and cluster then they turn yellow and die. The aphid also feed on the fruit.
The pest can be controlled by spraying 1 ml Rogor or metasystox per litre of water before or at bud-swell stage.
2. Flat Headed Stem Borer (Sphenoptera Lafertei):
The borer first appears serious pest during sixties in Himachal Pradesh.
It can be controlled by swabbing treatment of the stem and main trunk to a height of about 2 metre from ground level with 0.2% methyl parathion first in February-March and again with 0.25% insecticidal concentration of swabs during May-June, August and October.
Essay # 6. Diseases of Cherry:
1. Bacterial Canker:
It is caused by Pseudomonas syringae. It is serious in sweet cherries. The disease causes bare branches by extensive killing of leaves and flower buds and spurs on two year or older wood. The bacteria destroy the conducting tissues just below the bark. Dark brown streak of dead tissue may extend up and down the branches for a considerable distance beyond a visible canker. Leaf and flower spurs or entire branches wilt and die. Leaf infection during spring develops as small purplish spot surrounded by a ring of light green tissues. These spots become irregular in shape and turn brown.
Application of Mashobra paste during dormancy on cleaned, localized wounds is recommended to control the disease.
2. Verticillium Wilt:
The disease is caused by Verticillium albo-atrum and Verticillium dahliae. The disease causes defoliation and wilting in young trees of less than 10 years age especially in sweet cherries. The infected trees remain stunted and unproductive for several years. The symptom consists in wilting of foliage and the leaves turn pale green or yellow and finally drop.
Always select desirable well-drained soil for planting cherry orchards to minimise soil- borne diseases. In the young non-bearing orchard do not intercrop potatoes, tomatoes, egg plants, peppers, strawberries and raspberries as they favour increase of fungus in the soil. The pits may be fumigated with 3% formalin before planting.
3. Brown Rot:
Causal organism of this disease is Monilinia fucticola. It is important disease of sweet cherry. On the affected fruits, small round spots develop. It causes severe losses during hot and humid weather conditions at harvest.
The disease can be controlled by adopting sanitation practices.
4. Crown and Root Gall:
It is caused by bacteria Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The wart-like tumors or swellings appears at the crown or on the roots. The galls are at first light in colour and soft in texture but later turn black and become hard. The bacterium of this disease lives in the soil.
The plants may be dipped in a 0.4 per cent copper sulphate solution for one hour before planting. In case of infected plants apply Chaubattia paste after superficial heating of the localized lesions with blow lamp.
5. Leaf Spot:
The disease is caused by Cercospora circumscissa. Numerous minute purple spots appear on the upper surface of the leaves. For its control, spray Captan 75 WP (200 g in 100 litres of water) after petal fall. Repeat the spray 20 days later and after harvest.
6. Viral Diseases:
Sweet cherries on Prunus mahaleb rootstock wilt and decline rapidly after infection. Mottle leaf causes yellowish mottling of the leaves.
Essay # 7. Disorder of Cherry:
Fruit Cracking:
The different cultivars of sweet cherry differ in their susceptibility to cracking. The cultivars with a rapid rate of absorption and a low capacity for expansion crack readily while those with a slow rate of absorption and a high capacity for expansion tend to be immune. Any treatment that decreases the rate of water absorption or increases the capacity of the fruit tissues to stretch without rupturing reduces the amount of cracking.
A spray of calcium chloride at 300-350 g per 100 litres water applied at weekly interval before harvest checked the fruit cracking in Bing and Lambert cultivars. Spraying of GA3 2000 ppm on Ekero cultivar 3 weeks before harvesting reduced the amount of fruit cracking caused by heavy rainfall following drought.