Lateral branching on the leader induced by notching in different sweet cherry rootstock-cultivar combinations

Most sweet cherry cultivars have strong apical dominance, particularly in young trees. If not properly managed, the leaders of young sweet cherry trees produce hardly any laterals. A correct placement of laterals in young trees is essential for the successful formation of the training system. For this purpose, an experiment was designed to study the characteristics of the laterals induced by notching along 1-year-old leaders, in two cultivars, 'Kordia' and 'Regina', grafted on seven rootstocks Gisela 5, Gisela 6, MaxMa 14, Cab 6p, Oblachinska sour cherry, Colt and Prunus mahaleb. Each rootstockcultivar combination was analysed for: tree height and diameter, the number of lateral branches produced in the bottom, middle and top third of the leader, branch diameter, branch length and branching angle. The trees of both cultivars responded similarly in some, and differently in other rootstock combinations regarding the notching. At the cultivar 'Kordia' the highest number of laterals was observed with Colt as a rootstock and the lowest with Gisela 6. Contrary at 'Regina' the highest number of laterals was noted with the rootstock Gisela 5 and to lowest with MaxMa 14.