The leaf fall period in cherry plants marks the beginning of one of the most important stages in the cycle of this species, which is the deepest period of winter dormancy, and where the reproductive structures are protected to better withstand the cold of winter and climatic events such as frost and rain that occur at this time.
Dormancy is a continuous physiological process that occurs season after season, and it is also the best time to carry out essential work such as pruning for renewal and load regulation, both for orchards that are in formation and for those that are already in production.
There is much talk about how to tackle this important task, the “associated technicality”, the “intensity” of pruning or simply what information tools are the correct ones to obtain a maximization in production during the season in the case of productive orchards and how to obtain a balanced and optimal structure for the formation of new orchards.
In this last case, the main “axis”, in the most contextual sense of the word, is the perfect formation and/or distribution of branches in the plant, regardless of the training system, since it is in this initial phase that a large part of the productive potential of a cherry orchard is decided. I am sure that the greatest challenge of cherry plantation projects today is to be able to form the orchard within a level of excellence. After this, the project is destined to produce fruit. The quantity and quality of this potential is already part of the permanent analysis according to the proposed objective; and the need in the harvesting operation is also an issue associated with this potential in terms of how attractive the project is to the workforce, not speaking of easier or more difficult training systems, but of the quantity and quality of fruit available.
Given the importance of pruning in fruit species, it is very necessary to be able to take all the technical information such as climatological data, health condition of the orchard, level of productive load of the season, among many factors that must be taken into account to determine with certainty the form of pruning and how it will affect or benefit according to the productive objectives and the viability of the project.
It is essential to take all considerations into account when carrying out this work, in a sense of continuous improvement, a concept that is often not well rooted in the fruit industry but which from my point of view should be understood as the ability to reinvent oneself, where both those of us who do fruit growing, as well as technicians and producers have a lot to say about it.
