Influence of Five Clonal Rootstocks on the Growth, Productivity and Fruit Quality of ‘Sylvia’ and ‘Karina’ Sweet Cherry Trees

In the field experiment, 8-year-old ‘Sylvia’ and ‘Karina’ sweet cherry trees grafted on ‘GiSelA 3’, ‘GiSelA 5’, ‘Piku 4’and ‘Weiroot 72’ clonal rootstocks were compared with trees of the same cultivars on the standard rootstock F 12/1. The data collected included tree vigour (expressed as trunk cross-sectional area − TCSA), yield, and fruit weight as well as content of soluble solids in fruit.

Based on TCSA, the largest ‘Sylvia’ and ‘Karina’ trees were on ‘F12/1’, and the smallest were on ‘GiSelA 3’. The results revealed that all of the tested rootstocks being compared to ‘F 12/1’, significantly reduced the growth of sweet cherry trees.

‘Sylvia’ trees on ‘GiSelA 5’ and ‘Piku 4’ yielded more than those on ‘F12/1’. The highest cumulative yields of ‘Karina’ were harvested from trees on ‘GiSelA 5’. ‘Karina’ trees on ‘GiSelA 3’, ‘Piku 4’ and ‘Weiroot 72’ performed comparably in cumulative yields to those on ‘F12/1’. Rootstock effects on yield efficiency were consistent between the two cultivars, with the most yield efficient trees on ‘GiSelA 3’, ‘GiSelA 5’ and ‘Weiroot 72’, and the least efficient trees on ‘F12/1’.

Trees of both cultivars grafted on ‘GiSelA 3’ produced significantly smaller fruits than those grafted on ‘F 12/1’. The rest of the rootstocks, tested in terms of an effect on fruit weight (with the exception of ‘Karina’ on ‘Weiroot 72’), had a similar value to ‘F 12/1’. Effects of rootstock on content of soluble solids in fruit were modest and statistically insignificant.