As I have seen that some of you have doubts about the appropriate varieties to pollinate the different varieties of cherry trees, today we will delve a little deeper into this topic.
First of all, it is never known with certainty on what exact dates a particular variety of cherry tree will bloom, due to the climatic conditions of each year, which can advance or delay its flowering.
What we do know for sure is that all varieties, depending on the weather conditions, advance or delay their flowering synchronously.
There are three groups of varieties of cherry trees, depending on their flowering time:
- early flowering season varieties
- Medium flowering season varieties
- Late flowering varieties
It is very important to highlight that the cherry tree is an entomophilous pollinated fruit tree, that is, it requires the action of pollinating insects to transfer pollen grains from one flower to the other.
The most used pollinating agent is the bee (Apis mellifera), which works efficiently between 15º to 26º Celsius ( 59º to 79º Farenheit ) , and Its activity is diminished until it is canceled at temperatures below 10-12º Celsius ( 50º to 53º Farenheit ) .
Other factors that limit their work are rainy days or those with winds exceeding 24 km/h ( 15 miles/hour ).
Now we will focus on the hard core of the matter.
Look at this pollination table:
To find out the right pollinators we must focus on two parameters:
- Flowering time
- Compatibility Group or Genotype
For a variety to be compatible in pollination, these two data must be met:
- Same flowering time
- Different Compatibility Group or Genotype
To see it clearly, we will take, for example, a variety widely used in the United States, such as the Bing variety.
If you look at the table, Bing has these blooming characteristics:
- Medium flowering time
- Incompatibility group III, S3S4 alleles
What varieties will adequately pollinate Bing?
Very easy .
All mid-flowering varieties, except those of the same incompatibility group or genotype
And a picture is worth a thousand words.
All these varieties would adequately pollinate Bing
If a variety does not appear in the table, it will be enough to know its flowering time and alleles to find out its suitable pollinators.
Self-fertile and universal pollinating varieties:
These varieties are extremely interesting for several reasons:
- Fruiting assured regardless of weather conditions
- Universal pollination for all varieties of their flowering date
It is extremely important in a good cherry orchard to have at least one self-fertile variety and universal pollinator for each flowering season.
Because ?
Because there are varieties that flower between two periods, and they need 2 pollinators for complete fruiting.
A clear example is the Rocket variety, which needs a suitable pollinator, from the early flowering season and another from the mid-flowering season, or for example the Summit variety, which needs a suitable pollinator from the mid-flowering season and another from the late flowering season.
I think that initially, the topic is clear, so you can ask any questions you may have.
Best regards
Jose