Abstract
The studies were conducted during the period 2014-2015 in a sweet cherry plantation in the Institute of Agriculture – Kyustendil, including introduced cultivars and selected elites. The object of research was sweet cherry elite № 6374 (Germersdorf x Stella), compared with the standard Van cultivar. The trees were grafted on prunus mahaleb seedling rootstock planted in the spring of 2002, grown without irrigation and formed a freely-growing crown.
Pruning was done after planting and then the trees were left to freely express their growth and reproductive characteristic. Sanitary pruning was applied when necessary. It was found that the standard Van variety and elite № 6374 did not differ significantly in vigour. Elite № 6374 performed higher productivity, larger fruits and a relatively better resistance to fruit cracking.
Кеywords: sweet cherry, cultivars, growth, fruiting, fruit quality