Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Newer designs help maintain shorter trees, greater yields, and improved pest
and disease management.
Steep Ladder
In the steep ladder system ( figure 12.19 ) , a freestanding tree is grown on
either standard or dwarfing rootstocks. This is the system of choice for many
sweet cherry growers in the Pacific Northwest and is an adaptation of the
open center or vase training system design that has long been popular. Trees
are planted 16 to 20 feet apart in rows that are 18 to 24 feet apart, producing
low- to moderate-density orchards on vigorous rootstocks, usually Mazzard.
Production does not begin until the fifth or sixth year after planting.
By using dwarfing rootstocks such as Gisela 5 or Gisela 6, you can in-
crease early yields while reducing tree size. These trees are spaced closer
together than trees on vigorous rootstocks. California growers have found,
however, that it can be difficult to maintain vigor on the dwarfing rootstocks,
and small fruit size has been a problem as orchards mature. The pruning
methods we discussed above should help maintain vigor and fruit size on
productive rootstocks.
The steep ladder design has many advantages, particularly for larger-
scale commercial growers. It is suited to good or poor soils and frosty sites,
adapts to a range of vigorous and dwarfing rootstocks, and works with dif-
ferent cherry varieties. The system does require relatively high management
skills and is slow to come into bearing (at least on vigorous rootstocks), and
harvest costs are higher than with smaller trees.
LARGE SWEET CHERRY TREES
If you have a large, freestanding sweet cherry tree and want to keep
it, pruning and training mostly involve thinning out excessive growth.
Sweet cherries are notorious for producing multiple upright leaders
 
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