It's time to inspect your cherry orchard and to look at trees with a diagnostic eye.
How have the cherry trees fared following last season?
Have they, as a result of a smaller crop, put on more vegetative growth, or have they produced more fruit bud clusters with a potential for a heavy crop this season?
Are you tracking chill hours or chill portions to try and determine how fruit set might pan out?
What are the differences between varieties that produced a reasonable crop last season, and the trees that had a light crop? Perhaps a different approach to pruning might be advisable if there is a standout difference.
Pruning
For example, if vegetative growth has been very strong, consider reducing the first–year wood that shows only leaf buds. This will reduce the potential to overcrop the following season, and removes the likelihood of producing smaller cherries near the ends of thinner wood.
It's the smaller cherries that either do not make a profit for your business, or end up as waste at grading.
Rootstocks
Make a visual assessment of the differences between a variety grown on more than one rootstock.
Dwarfing rootstocks are more likely to have more fruit buds and a greater potential for cropping. So inspect the trees, recognize the differences in growth habit and fruit bud potential, and prune accordingly.
Climate
It is also important to recognize that cooler climates generally set less fruit than warmer ones.
Although extra chill is a positive in the cooler climates, blossom viability and bee activity can be hampered by windy, cold weather affecting both bee flight and pollination viability.
Remember, if your cherry trees had a bit of a rest from production last season, it is likely that crop potential could be up significantly.
Shading
Is shading going to be an issue in the lower part of the tree?
If yes, think about removing a limb that has few fruit buds apart from some at the top of the tree. This will encourage new growth to regenerate the tree.
It will also increase light through the tree which in turn is likely to help fruit-set and bud production that is driven by light.
Remember that to grow good cherries, you must harvest light.
See this article in Tree Fruit July 2017
