The effects of rootstocks on growth and development of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L. cv. "Kutahya") in the growing conditions of Bursa

Abstract

Turkey is one of the most important sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) producers in the world, mostly producing the cultivar "Kutahya." To date, no previous study published on the effects of clonal roodstocks on the growth and development, yield, and fruit quality of "Kutahya" sour cherry. Therefore, this study was carried out from 2015 to 2019 to determine the influences of SL-64, Piku 3, Maxma 14, CAB 6P and PHL-C rootstocks on vigor, yield, and fruit quality of "Kutahya" sour cherry cultivar in Bursa, Marmara Region, Turkey. The effects of rootstocks on blooming period, ripening time, trunk diameter, trunk cross-sectional area, pruning waste, fruit weight and volume, fruit stalk length, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, pH, and ripening index were evaluated. No sour cherry trees on CAB 6P and PHL-C rootstocks died throughout the study period whereas trees on SL-64 rootstock showed high mortality (87%) in the first year of the study. In general, CAB 6P rootstock promoted the highest vigor and annual and cumulative yield. Yield efficiency was the highest for PHL-C but it was not significantly different from that for CAB 6P. CAB 6P rootstock induced the highest fruit weight and volume whereas Maxma 14 rootstock induced the lowest. Moreover, CAB 6P tended to induce higher fruit stalk length whereas Piku 3 induced the lowest. The soluble solids content was the highest in fruit from trees grafted on Maxma 14 but without significant differences with those in fruit from trees grafted on other rootstocks. In general, CAB 6P and PHL-C rootstocks tended to induce higher titratable acidity. In light of the findings of this study, it is concluded that CAB 6P was the best-adapted rootstock and it is recommended for establishing orchards of "Kutahya" sour cherry in the Marmara region.