A Study on Apical and Lateral Shoot Development in Sweet Cherries

Abstract

Apical dominance is a complex issue that has been studied for many years. In simplest terms, it is the elongation of the upper bud by preventing the growth of the lower buds. Among the temperate climate fruit species, sweet cherry is one of the species with the highest tendency to apical dominance. For this reason, sweet cherry trees grow strong and upright like a forest tree, and commercial sweet cherry cultivation is impossible without any external intervention. This study aimed to determine the parameters affecting the terminal shoot length in young sweet cherry trees, with reference to apical dominance, and to develop a model that determines the terminal shoot length from these parameters. Additionally, this study aimed to increase lateral shoot development with some applications. This study was conducted with young sweet cherry trees in North Anatolia in 2021-2023. To affect the shoot development of the trees, bud management and Perlan application as well as bud management and Perlan application together were carried out, while some trees were left to grow naturally. Thus, a difference was created in lateral shoot development. The effect of some growth parameters on apical shoot length was revealed. An apical shoot length model was developed. In addition, lateral shoot development was encouraged by Perlan spraying (P), bud management (BM) and, bud management + Perlan (BM + P). In general, the best results were obtained in relation to the parameters studied from BM + P application, providing a sufficient number of medium vigorous lateral shoots.