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  • John Warmerdam

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    September 18, 2021 at 12:13 am
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    Is this a commercial orchard? If so, did you apply Dormex? Cherry flowers and leaves have a different chill requirement, with flowers having a slightly lower requirement but also less sink strength. If you either apply a rest-breaking agent, or have a lot of chill, you will have both flowers and leaves come out at the same time, but since leaves have a stronger demand for sugars and nutrients we often see less fruit set, as well as a longer bloom period, if they come out together. In a competition leaves will always win! We aim to apply our Dormex early enough to fulfill the flower requirement but also apply a lower Dormex rate to not give the leaves a full chill equivalent. It will also depend on your pollinizer, as Royal Hazel has a lower chill requirement than some of the other possible pollinizers (such as Royal Lynn). Curious to know what you are using to pollinate these, as well as your location (latitude).