Under what climatic conditions is the sweet cherry (Western cherry) suitable for cultivation?
The sweet cherry (also known as the large cherry) has not been cultivated for long since its introduction to our country, only just over one hundred years. Cultivation is concentrated in the provinces along the coast of the Bohai Bay, with Shandong Province having the most. In recent years, many places have also tried introducing and cultivating it. But all have shown vigorous tree growth, excessive elongation of shoots, few flower buds formed, severe flower and fruit drop...
The sweet cherry (also known as the large cherry) has not been cultivated for long since its introduction to our country, only just over one hundred years. Cultivation is concentrated in the provinces along the coast of the Bohai Bay, with Shandong Province having the most. In recent years, many places have also tried introducing and cultivating it. But all have shown vigorous tree growth, excessive elongation of shoots, few flower buds formed, severe flower and fruit drop, very few or no fruit set. This shows no economic cultivation value, and the main reasons are:
1. The large cherry requires a cool and dry climate, demands a long duration of sunshine, and a high sunshine percentage. The required annual sunshine duration is 2600-2800 hours, with a sunshine percentage reaching 57-64%. It is not suitable for a climate that is warm and humid, with high temperatures, abundant rain, and short sunshine duration. Such an environment will inevitably have a great impact on the flower bud differentiation, flowering and fruiting of the large cherry. Thus, a situation arises where only shoots grow but no fruit is produced.
2. The large cherry is a tree species that requires a relatively long period of low temperatures during winter dormancy. Temperatures below 7.2°C in winter must last for 2007-2272 hours for it to successfully complete natural dormancy. Otherwise, flower bud development is poor, floral organs are incomplete, and in the following year, bud break is delayed, flower drop is severe, or flower buds wither and drop off. In the climate of our province, however, some winters experience a warm winter, making it difficult to meet the low-temperature requirements of the large cherry, which will have a certain impact on flowering and fruiting. This is also one of the reasons for the low fruit set rate, or no fruit set. Therefore, to cultivate the large cherry in our province, it is necessary to start with introduction, select an ecological environment suitable for the large cherry, and conduct trials. Do not develop blindly.