Flowering time and incompatibility groups: Cultivar combination in commercial sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) orchards

The paper presents results of eight-year study (1999-2006) of flowering phenophase in 21 introduced sweet cherry cultivars grown under the agro-environmental conditions of West Serbia. Flowering time, as well as progress and abundance of flowering were studied, and classification of the studied cultivars according to flowering time was derived. On the basis of mean several-year overlap in phenophase of full flowering and on the grounds of so far known data on classification of these cultivars among incompatibility groups, we have offered a recommendation for their cultivation in orchards whereby the most effective pollination and fertilization can be ensured as well as good fruit-set and satisfactory fruit yields.