The main techniques for regulating load are intense pruning, thinning of buds, flowers and fruits.
Bud thinning has had good results in reducing the productive load in order to maximize the final result in a cherry orchard according to various studies.
Conditioning the productive potential of a cherry orchard has become increasingly necessary, as new variety/rootstock combinations have been positioned in the sector with the aim of providing better quality fruit for export and turning orchards into more competitive players in the cherry market.
A new alternative that is being used in orchards, as another way of regulating the load of fruit trees, is the thinning of flower buds. However, the effectiveness of this thinning will always depend on different factors such as the variety, rootstock, health of the orchard, level of fruit set, to mention a few.
Information released by academic Marlene Ayala, which is based on the 1998 publication by Gregory A. Lang “High density orchands and intensive crop regulation. Good Fruit Grower” indicates that fruit quality improves significantly as production is reduced by thinning flower buds, significantly increasing weight, fruit size, firmness and percentage of dry matter and soluble solids, as can be seen in Table 1.
Likewise, multiple investigations carried out in Chile by the Avium SpA team and other researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of bud thinning in improving the size and final condition of the fruit.
“Not only can we recognize that bud thinning is an effective tool to regulate early load, but also that it is probably the best strategy to improve orchards in weak conditions, considering that by leaving a lower flower load from very early on, there is more opportunity for the floral bud of the shoots to develop better.” said Carlos Tapia, Director of Avium.
In any case, it is very important to be able to carry out a thorough analysis of the situation of each orchard before making the decision to carry out this work and deciding its level of intensity.
Bibliographic references.
– Carlos Tapia-Personal communication.
– Importance of regulating fruit load- Agronomy and Forestry UC-Marlenne Ayala-Paula Wedeles.
– Regulation of fruit load in cherry trees: a practice that allows increasing export volumes- Fruiting and diversification-Dolores Raffo-Tadeo Ballivian.
