Why is early crop load management so important?The natural fruit drop observed in fruit trees, particularly apples, in early summer is insufficient to achieve optimum crop loads, fruit size and quality, or to prevent biennial bearing.

Application of Waiken gives apple and cherry growers greater control over bud break, flowering and time of maturity. Depending on when it is applied, it can be used to bring forward, or to delay bud-break.

Observations: Fruit size was not affected by light exposure or tree side, only by the number of fruits, with the low crop load showing the bigger fruit, as expected.Blush colour was affected differently by the light exposure and tree side.

Irregularity in cropping is a major economic constraint in many fruit tree orchards. Understanding the mechanisms involved in flowering and fruit set can help orchardists to manage crop loads, resulting in improved yields, fruit quality and returns.

In addition to the strategies outlined in this article, conversion to drip irrigation offers an opportunity to reduce water consumption.

Sorting, packing and transporting cherries: Storability & flavour, cooling and transport

Consumers prefer highly coloured fruit. Consequently, retailers require minimum percentages of blush on fruit as delivery standards. Modern stone fruit cultivars are bred to have a high percentage of their surface naturally coloured. However, there can be substantial variability in colouring within the canopy, mostly due to shading—which can be…

It is difficult enough growing cherries while coping with Nature's negative aspects of weather, without the added impact of living with a pandemic.

The following are recommendations to park trees and minimise irrigation:

Sorting, packing and transporting cherries

The aim of parking trees is to sacrifice the crop and apply the minimum amount of irrigation so that trees survive and return to full production the following year.

There are three types of damage to cherries caused by vibration, impact and compression.