Evaluation of Promising Sweet Cherry Cultivars on the Clonal Rootstock Krymsk 5 in the Forest-Steppe Zone

Kishchak, Olena; Slobodianiuk, Andrii; Malashevskyi, Mykola; Malashevska, Olena; Kishchak, Yuriy

doi:10.22059/ijhst.2025.392837.1057

Evaluation of Promising Sweet Cherry Cultivars on the Clonal Rootstock Krymsk 5 in the Forest-Steppe Zone

Document Type : Research paper

Authors

Olena Kishchak ¹

Andrii Slobodianiuk ¹

Mykola Malashevskyi ²

Olena Malashevska ³

Yuriy Kishchak ¹

¹ Institute of Horticulture of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (IH NAAS)

² Land Management Institute, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine

³ Geodesy and Cartography Department, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine

10.22059/ijhst.2025.392837.1057

Abstract

One of the key considerations in establishing commercial sweet cherry (Prunus avium) orchards is the selection of cultivars and rootstocks that maximize the yield of marketable fruit, which can then be sold at premium prices. This research aimed to identify large-fruited, high-yielding sweet cherry cultivars suitable for industrial cultivation in the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine. The study evaluated 23 cultivars grafted onto Krymsk 5 rootstock, planted at a density of 889 trees per hectare, focusing on growth characteristics, precocity, yield, and fruit marketability. Among the early-bearing cultivars, ‘Kazka’ stood out for its compact crown habit. In the mid-season group, ‘Elektra’ was notable, while the late-maturing group included promising cultivars such as ‘Krupnoplidna’, ‘Annushka’, ‘Etyka’, ‘Anshlag’, ‘Anons’, and ‘Stark Hardy Giant’. By the age of seven, trees had reached heights of 3.4 to 3.6 meters, with crown volumes ranging from 13.2 to 16.0 m³. In terms of precocity and productivity, the late-maturing cultivars ‘Zodiak’, ‘Anshlag’, ‘Anons’, ‘Donchanka’, ‘Etyka’, and ‘Krupnoplidna’ were particularly noteworthy, yielding 11.3 to 16.4 t/ha in the fifth year after planting and 34.0 to 46.2 t/ha in the sixth year. The largest fruits, with diameters of 31.3 to 32.7 mm, were produced by ‘Temporion’, ‘Etyka’, and ‘Krupnoplidna’. These cultivars demonstrate strong potential for use in industrial orchards, with fruit quality that meets the standards required by global retail chains.

Keywords

Cerasus avium

cultivars

fruits

marketability

yield