Growth, productivity and fruit quality of 'Kordia' sweet cherry trees on eight clonal rootstocks.

In the field experiment, 11-year-old 'Kordia' sweet cherry trees grafted on 'GiSelA 5', 'P-HL A', 'P-HL B', 'P-HL C', 'Maxma Delbard 14 Brokforest', 'Weiroot 158' and 'Tabel Edabriz' semi-dwarfing and dwarfing rootstocks were compared with trees of the same cultivar on the standard rootstock 'F 12/1'. The results revealed that all semi-dwarfing and dwarfing rootstocks tested (with the exception of 'Maxma 14'), in comparison to the standard rootstock 'F 12/1', significantly reduced the growth of 'Kordia' sweet cherry trees. The most dwarfing rootstock was 'Tabel Edabriz', followed closely by 'GiSelA 5', 'P-HL A' and 'P-HL C'. The highest cumulative yields were harvested from trees grafted on 'GiSelA 5', 'Maxma 14' and 'P-HL B'. Rootstocks with the highest yield efficiencies were 'GiSelA 5' and 'Tabel Edabriz'. The lowest yield efficiency in this study was recorded for trees on 'F 12/1'. Trees grafted on 'Tabel Edabriz' produced smaller fruits than those grafted on other rootstocks tested. In this trial, the concentration of soluble solids in fruits of 'Kordia' sweet cherry trees grafted on 'F 12/1' and 'Maxma 14' vigorous rootstocks, was significantly lower than in fruits harvested from trees grafted on dwarfing or semi dwarfing rootstocks.