A Complete Analysis of the Latest Growing Conditions for Cherries

Cherry is the transliteration of the English word cherry; in Taiwan, Guangdong and Hong Kong it is directly transliterated as “cherry”. But it does not refer to the small, red, thin-skinned Chinese cherry, but to the imported cherry with large fruit and thick skin produced in American countries such as the United States, Canada and Chile. China currently also has introduced cherry trees, but they have not yet reached scale. The environmental conditions required for growing cherries include the following:

Temperature

Cherry is a deciduous fruit tree that likes warmth and is not cold-tolerant. The Chinese cherry originated in China's Yangtze River basin and adapts to a warm, humid climate with weak cold resistance, so it is mostly cultivated in the Yangtze River basin and in northern areas with relatively warm microclimates. Sweet cherries and sour cherries originated in West Asia and Europe and adapt to a relatively cool and dry climate, and are more suitable for cultivation in North China, Northwest China and southern Northeast China. However, high temperature and dryness in summer are unfavorable for the growth of sweet cherries. The minimum winter temperature must not fall below -20; excessively low temperatures will cause vertical cracking of large branches and gummosis. In addition, flower buds are susceptible to freeze damage. If the temperature drops below -3 degrees C during the flowering period, the flowers will suffer freeze damage, so when developing cherries, excessively cold areas are not suitable.

Water

Cherries are very sensitive to moisture conditions: they are neither drought-resistant nor waterlogging-tolerant. In the cultivation areas of Chinese cherries, apart from the southern provinces where rainfall is abundant, the north mostly chooses hillside and ravine areas with relatively humid microclimates for cultivation. Looking at the distribution of sweet cherry cultivation areas around the world, most are chosen near river systems or coastal zones. China's main sweet cherry cultivation areas are currently mostly distributed in Shandong Yantai and Liaoning Dalian around the Bohai Bay; these two places are close to the sea, with annual rainfall of 600-900 mm, and the air is also relatively humid. But this does not limit the cultivation of sweet cherries in areas with low rainfall, such as Washington State's Yakima and Wenatchee in the United States, where annual rainfall does not exceed 250 mm and growing-season rainfall does not exceed 150 mm. Ukraine's sweet cherry production areas are mainly distributed in summer-dry areas along the Black Sea coast, where annual rainfall does not exceed 300 mm and there is very little rain from July to September, but these areas have suitable temperatures, sufficient light and good irrigation conditions, so sweet cherries grow well and are high-quality and high-yielding. Cherries, like other stone fruits, require relatively high oxygen in the root system. If there is too much soil moisture and insufficient oxygen, it will affect the normal respiration of the root system, and the tree cannot grow and develop normally, causing root rot and gummosis, and in severe cases leading to tree death. If rainfall is heavy and drainage is not timely, and the cherry tree is submerged in water for 2 days, the leaves will wilt but not fall off; the leaf wilting cannot recover and may even cause the whole tree to die.

Light

Cherry is a light-loving tree species, especially sweet cherry, followed by sour cherry and downy cherry, while Chinese cherry is relatively shade-tolerant. When light conditions are good, the tree is robust, the fruiting branches have a long life, the flower buds are plump, the fruit-setting rate is high, the fruit ripens early, has good color, high sugar content and less acidity. When light conditions are poor, the tree tends to grow excessively, the branches inside the canopy weaken, the fruiting branches have a short life, the fruiting position moves outward, the flower buds develop poorly, the fruit-setting rate is low, the fruit colors poorly, ripens late and is of poor quality. Therefore, when establishing an orchard, choose sunny slopes or semi-sunny slopes, do not plant too densely, and open the branch angles to ensure light conditions inside the canopy and achieve ventilation and light penetration.

Soil

Sweet cherry is suitable for cultivation on sandy loam or gravelly loam with deep soil, loose texture, good aeration and relatively strong water retention. When cultivated in heavy clay soil, the root system is shallow, not drought-resistant, not waterlogging-tolerant and not wind-resistant. Cherry trees are very sensitive to the degree of salinization; the suitable soil pH is 5.6-7, so saline-alkali areas are not suitable for growing cherries.

Cherries are very prone to crown gall disease; if there are crown gall pathogens and nematodes in the soil, crown gall disease is easily transmitted. Old orchards where cherries, peaches, plums and apricots have been planted have many crown gall pathogens in the soil, so they are not suitable for planting cherry trees, and even less suitable as nurseries for developing cherries. If the saplings have crown gall disease, it will cause even more serious consequences.

Wind

The root system of cherries is generally relatively shallow, and their wind resistance is poor. Strong winds in severe winter and early spring easily cause branch dehydration and flower bud freeze damage; strong winds during the flowering period easily dry the stigma mucus and affect insect pollination; typhoons in summer and autumn can cause branch breakage and tree toppling, causing even greater losses. Therefore, in areas invaded by strong winds, windbreak forests must be established, or areas with a good micro-environment should be chosen for orchard establishment.