Sweet Cherry Growing in Turkey

Abstract

The sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is native to some parts of northern Anatolia. Turkey ranks first in world cherry production and is one of the most important countries in cherry exports. Sweet cherry is commonly grown in Izmir, Konya, Bursa, Manisa, Afyon, Isparta and Amasya Province in Turkey. The increase in value especially in domestic and foreign markets in recent years has caused the small cherry orchards consisting of traditional large trees to be replaced by large orchards established with modern systems in Turkey. Despite having a serious pollination and fertilization problem, ‘0900 Ziraat’ is still the most important cultivar in the Turkish cherry industry. However, cultivars are in a process of change according to producer and market needs. It is seen that the rootstocks used in cherry cultivation are also in the process of change, together with the modernized and dwarfed orchards. In Turkey, the most widely used rootstock are mazzard seedling and ‘M×M14’ clonal rootstock. Turkey is one of the world’s leading countries in cherry exports. The main market in cherry foreign trade for Turkey is Europe. However, the search for new markets continues. In recent years, studies on cultivar and rootstock breeding have gained momentum in Turkey, and a few new cultivars have been developed with various studies. It seems that Turkey is changing from conventional to modern cherry production and will continue to be leader in cherry production in the world. © 2024 International Society for Horticultural Science. All rights reserved.