What should be noted when growing cherries?

1. Site selection and orchard establishment. "Chinese cherry" can grow normally where the average annual temperature is above 15-16°C and the annual rainfall is between 700-1000 mm. Although varieties of the "Chinese cherry" type are relatively shade-tolerant, they still need to be planted in a spot with good light in order to achieve early fruit ripening, good coloring and high yield. Cherries are suited to loose, fertile sandy loam with deep soil, with a pH value between 6.0-7.5. Heavy clay needs to be improved and matured before cherries can be planted. When planting cherries on hilly slopes, choose a wind-sheltered, sun-facing slope or the base of the hill. Before planting the seedlings, improve the soil by trenching or digging planting holes, and apply plenty of organic fertilizer as base fertilizer.

2. Do a good job of training and pruning. Cherries are suited to a clump form, a central-leader sparse-tiered form, an open-center form, etc. According to our experimental observations, the Y-shaped tree form (or V-shaped) can both bear fruit early and be easy to manage, and it also helps meet the tree's light requirements, thereby improving quality. The characteristics of the Y-shaped tree form are: trunk height 30-50 cm, with two main branches on each tree extending symmetrically to the two sides, and the angle between the main branches 45-60 degrees. The tree height (the height from the ground to the end of the main branch extension) is preferably about 2 m. Each main branch on the same side is furnished with 7-10 medium-sized fruiting branch groups, the leaf area index is 5-7, and the leaf canopy thickness is 40-60 cm. Keep a 0.8-1.2 m light passage between rows.

3. Mulching to retain moisture both prevents fruit cracking and increases fruit size. The key points of "soil, fertilizer and water" management for cherries are: regulation of soil water and fertilizer from flowering to ripening. In a spring drought, young fruit will stop growing or drop (because the juice concentration of immature young fruit is only 52.6% of that of the leaves, and the water in the young fruit is easily taken by the leaves). About 25 days before ripening, soil moisture status plays a decisive role in fruit size. Therefore, on the premise of not causing excessive moisture, water should be supplied as much as possible to moisten the soil and enlarge the fruit. However, too much rain or irrigation will cause vigorous shoot growth and aggravate fruit drop and fruit cracking. According to experimental observations, managing with the measure of "irrigation plus mulching" in spring can increase the fruit-setting rate by 17.8%-26.4%, enlarge the fruit by 14.8% compared with the control, and increase the average single fruit weight by 0.6-1.2 grams.

4. Supplementing young trees with artificial pollination has a yield-increasing effect. Artificial supplementary pollination is an important measure for high yield and high quality in cherries. The dormant buds of cherries sprout at a relatively low temperature, and the flowering temperature is also low (about 11.8°C). In some years, after cherries bloom, the temperature rises slowly, and in areas where bees are the main flower-visiting insects, poor pollination and fertilization occur, because when the temperature is below 14°C, bees have weak activity, which blocks pollen transfer. Supplementing with artificial pollination (especially for young trees) gives very ideal yield-increasing results. Spraying 1-2 times with a mixed solution of urea, monopotassium phosphate and borax from the beginning of flowering to full bloom has a good effect on fruit setting.

5. Harvest at the right time. Fresh-eating cherries should be harvested as fully ripe as possible, because cherries continue to grow during the color-changing ripening stage, and the growth during this period accounts for 23%-37.8% of the total. At the same time, only ripe cherry fruit can reflect the flavor characteristics of that variety.