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Cherries can bloom very profusely in the spring, however, every gardener knows that this is not at all an indicator of a rich harvest in the future. The key to high fruiting is high-quality pollination of cherries or shrubs by insects or a pollinating plant.
How pollination occurs
The process of pollination consists in the ingress of ripe pollen on the stigma of the pistil of the flower. The pollen grain then germinates in the pistil column, penetrating the ovary, which contains the unfertilized ovule, and thereby fertilization occurs, which subsequently leads to the appearance of ovaries. The transfer of pollen to the stigma from the pistils of the flower is pollination.
Generally, pollination is done by bees or other insects and the wind. There are situations when pollination has to be done manually. For example, if cherries bloom too early, when there are still not enough insects, or if the tree grows in a greenhouse, where access for pollinating insects is completely limited. First, they check the readiness of pollen for fertilization by running a finger over the anther, looking to see if yellow lumps remain. After that, the optimal time is selected – this is the middle of the day, after several days of settled warm and dry weather. And daily until the end of flowering, it is desirable to carry out manual pollination with a brush or cotton swab.
Not all cherries are capable of self-pollination; to ensure cross-pollination, they must be planted with other varieties capable of self-fertilization with their own pollen. Different varieties of cherries have different flowering times. Only those trees whose flowers bloom at the same time are able to adapt to cross-pollination. With the help of special benefits, you can get all the necessary information to select the most suitable variety. However, not all cherries belonging to the same flowering time group are capable of such pollination.
According to the biology of pollination and flowering, cherry is close to cherry, its yield also depends on pollination. Remarkably, cherries are able to be pollinated by pollinating cherries, but cherries in very rare cases.
Conditions for pollination of cherries
To obtain an optimal yield, weather conditions during flowering are of great importance. Too hot or cold and rainy spring weather adversely affects flowering. At very high air temperatures, the susceptibility of the stigma of the flower decreases, and at low temperatures, its tender part is damaged. Moreover, both at low and at too high temperatures, the years of bees and other insects cease.
Rainy weather is also highly undesirable during flowering. Rain may not completely wash away pollen from stigmas and anthers, however, high-quality pollination will not occur and berry set will be negligible. In addition, high humidity can enhance or provoke the development of various fungal diseases that negatively affect not only the crop, but the entire tree as a whole.
Strong winds will not give insects the opportunity to focus on high-quality pollination. In windy weather, the bee collects much less pollen, and, consequently, processes fewer flowers, in addition, it is difficult to return the bee to the hive with a burden in such weather.
Types of cherries according to the method of pollination
Cherries are divided according to the ability to fertilize their own pollen into: self-fertile, self-fertile and partially self-fertile. In practice, varieties of cherries that set about 5-6% of fruits are classified as self-infertile. Self-fertile cherries are able to form 40-50% of the fruits of the total number of flowers on the plant, partially self-fertile – within 7-20%.
self fertile
Among the self-fertile varieties, the most popular with high yields can be distinguished – these are Podbelsky, Brunetka, Griot, Apukhtinsky, Kensky, Rossoshanskaya black, Finaevskaya and others.
Most self-fertile cherries have a very unusual flower structure: the height of the stamen with the anther, in which the pollen is located, and the pistil, from which the fruit is subsequently formed, are practically the same. Due to this, pollination occurs inside the flower, even before it opens. In self-fertile varieties, pollen retains the ability to germinate for 13-16 days, which contributes to a large number of ovaries. A large number of these cherry varieties have a relatively high percentage of germination even at 20-25 days. For comparison, ordinary cherry varieties lose their ability to germinate in cool weather at a temperature of 10-14C.
self-infertile
Ordinary or self-sterile varieties include varieties such as Alpha, Miracle, Saratov, Ural, Vladimir, Chernokorka and others. This is the largest group. Cherries of these varieties are not able to self-pollinate flowers. But in order for them to bear fruit normally, they are planted along with self-fertile varieties. The hybrid between sweet cherry and cherry also in most cases turns out to be self-fertile.
Partially self-fertile
Partially self-fertile include: Meeting, Malyshka, Maksimovsky, Long-awaited, Turgenevka, Ruby, Shpanka Donetsk, Alai swallows and others.
All of the above varieties are suitable for growing in farms and household plots. To obtain better compatibility, one should be guided by the zoned assortment of fruit crops and the information of special reference books.
Variety compatibility
Not all varieties have good or sufficient mutual pollination. There are cases when the varieties planted nearby are incompatible, so they practically do not give an ovary. It turns out that any self-infertile variety, while good in all respects, can be a low yielder without the right cherry pollinator.
When laying a garden, you should choose several varieties. It is important that cherry pollinators are close in terms of flowering, fruiting, fruit ripening and longevity of the plant as a whole.
The approximate most optimal combination of common varieties and pollinators Alpha (Vladimirsky, Griot, Shubina), Chernokorka (Lyubskaya, Yaroslavna, Donchanka, Aelita cherries), Ashinsky (Ruby, Altai swallow, Nochka), Zhukovsky (Lyubsky, Vladimirsky).
The small-dusted Kanzan cherry, of the shrub type, will bear fruit well if such self-pollinated varieties as Turgenevka, Molodezhny, Podbelsky are planted no further than 10-15 meters from it. And a self-pollinating cherry variety, like Ashinsky, requires proximity to late-flowering cherries, in which case the yield will be much higher.
Video “Pollination of cherries. Promising varieties»
The video shows promising pollinating varieties of cherries. The process of pollination and its importance in fruiting are highlighted.