Posts to follow in our idea of completing all known fruit trees, today we give way to the cultivation of cherry . Who else and who less has tried this fantastic fruit, either directly, in cakes, yogurts and a long etcetera. His fame is justified.
Of course, to eat them we either buy them from the supermarket, or we grow our own cherry tree. Which of the two options do you prefer?
Index
CHERRY CHARACTERISTICS
The fruit tree from which most commercial cherry trees in Europe and Asia mainly derive is the wild cherry, sweet or wild cherry . Its scientific name is Prunus avium and it is native to Europe.
It belongs to the Rosaceae family , which, as we have commented on some occasions, is one of the most important families, with almost 3,000 species, and to which many other very famous fruit trees also belong, such as the apple tree, the pear tree, the quince tree, the peach tree, the almond tree, etc.
CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE CHERRY TREE
The climate indicated for cherry tree cultivation is that of temperate zones . A typical climate can be that of long, cold winters and hot summers. You have to take care of untimely frosts since this tree is sensitive to them.
Especially when the fruit set occurs, it is when the temperatures must be kept stable to ensure that the fruits do not crack or damage the flower buds.
THE PERFECT SOIL TYPE
When deciding on the soil structure that is best for the cherry tree, we select that soil that is well aerated and porous , with low clay content and generally has good drainage . Its roots go deep enough so it must be deep soil.
As for the pH, the optimum is between 6 and 7, but it can reach values of 8 without problems.
Among the preparatory tasks we find ourselves with leaving the soil ready to introduce a new crop. This entails removing roots and stumps in the event that there has been a previous crop and, above all, disinfecting the soil.
One of the biggest problems that a newly incorporated plant can encounter is the previous existence of pathogenic organisms in the soil . Both pests and diseases can make an appearance if we have not previously disinfected the soil.
A great method to achieve this objective and also ecological is solarization . On the other hand, chemical methods can also be used to eliminate fungi, subsurface insects and nematodes. However, such methods are not recognized in integrated agriculture.
THE CHERRY TREE FERTILIZER
According to the recommendations of the Institute of Experimentation and Agrarian Promotion of Asturias, they advise, as a general term, to add half a kilo of NPK complex to the cherry tree in March and in May-June, just before summer, 200 or 300 grams of ammonium nitrate .
Compost is a good substitute for these components, only that being less concentrated you will have to add more quantity per tree and control and correct possible deficiencies that may appear in the tree.
If you observe any type of chlorosis, you can confirm it in our article on iron chlorosis , although it is not always about that chlorosis.
Beware of excess nitrogen. Some integrated production standards recommend not exceeding 175 FU (fertilizer units). This prevents the cherry tree from developing too many non-lignified tissues and being susceptible to being attacked by a large number of pests (As we discussed in the article on nitrogen and its importance ).
Let’s see what the cherry tree fertilizer needs would be like for an average fertilization plan:
- Nitrogen (N): 80 UF / Ha
- Phosphorus (P2O5): 60 UF / Ha
- Potasio (K2O): 100 U. F. /Ha
- Calcium (Ca): 25 UF / Ha
- Magnesio (Mg): 15 UF / Ha
IRRIGATION NEEDS
The cherry tree is not very demanding in terms of watering concerns and it withstands times of drought well . Although we may think that fruit trees require a lot of water to ensure the quality of the fruit, this is not the case of the cherry tree, which is among the fruit trees that need the least water.
On the contrary, this fruit tree will suffer problems if we go overboard with irrigation, since it is quite sensitive to excess water.
MULTIPLICATION
The cherry tree is a fruit tree that almost always undergoes grafting . In this case, the best thing to do is to buy your own tree from the nursery with the graft already made, although of course, anyone can try to make their first steps with grafts that, in the future, we will discuss the most common procedures.
In the meantime, you can get yourself a good grafting book to gather as much information as possible.
CHERRY TREE PRUNING
We have an article dedicated exclusively to cherry tree pruning . By clicking on the previous link you will be able to find out the tasks to perform to keep your fruit tree in perfect condition.
PLAGUES AND DISEASES
In these articles you can see the main problems that you must face in the development of the cherry tree. To make it easier, we have divided it into 2 parts: