Selection of optimal methods for shaping cherry tree canopies to create high-yield plantings

Goal. To determine the optimal methods for shaping canopies in modern cherry plantings to reduce labor intensity and ensure early fruiting and consistently high tree productivity. Methods. The study was conducted in 2022–2025 in a plantation of the Institute of Horticulture of NAAS, established in 2018 with 1-year-old seedlings of six large-fruited domestic cherry varieties (Annushka, Zodiak, Temporion, Udivitelna, Krupnoplidna, Etyka) on the medium-sized Krymsk 5 rootstock with tree spacing patterns of 5 ´ 3 and 4.5 ´ 2.5 m. The following crown forms were studied: rounded with a lower fruiting zone (control); single-tier; and KGB (open-bush system without a central leader). The soil (gray podzolized on loess-like loam) was maintained under fallow without irrigation. The study factors were as follows: crown shape (factor A), planting scheme (factor B), and cherry variety (factor C). Field and comparative-calculational methods were used to determine the labor intensity of pruning and the biometric indicators of trees, as well as their productivity; mathematical-statistical methods were used to assess the reliability of the results obtained. Statistical analysis of the results was performed using analysis of variance with Minitab software. Results. The rounded canopies developed at the Institute of Horticulture of NAAS ensured the compactness of trees and required 1.2–1.7 times less labor to establish compared to the KGB system, which required only varieties with a high degree of branching (Annushka, Zodiak). In the first years of fruiting, all studied orchard designs with a density of 889 trees/ha ensured high productivity; however, due to significant crown thickening in the KGB system and a more rapid rate of branch defoliation starting at 8 years of age in the Temporion and Udivitelna varieties, yield decreased by a factor of 1.2–1.5. Conclusions. The most technologically suitable and versatile for all varieties were the rounded, compact crowns developed at the Institute of Horticulture of NAAS, which, in orchards on Krymsk 5 rootstock at a planting density of 889 trees /ha, in combination with the large-fruited varieties Krupnoplidna, Zodiak, and Etyka, ensured the trees’ compactness and early fruiting, as well as total yield over the first 4 years of fruiting at a record-high level — 91.1–115.5 t/ha.