Cherry Dachnitsa

Cherry Dachnitsa (Prunus avium) – a cultivar of sweet cherry with an early ripening period – June 10-20. The cultivar was developed at the Melitopol Institute of Irrigated Horticulture by crossing the variety Napoleon (Bigarreau Napoleon) with the pollen of 12 varieties.

It is a medium-sized tree forming an elevated, spreading, moderately dense crown. Begins fruiting in the 4th year.

Fruits are large, weighing 8-9 g, yellow, uniform, rounded heart-shaped. Fruit apex rounded, base with a depression. The pit is shallow and broad. The suture is shallow, scarcely noticeable. There are many subcutaneous dots; they are white and inconspicuous. The skin is thin, smooth, glossy, and peels off the fruit easily. The peduncle is medium, 4.6 cm long; separation from the branch is good, attachment to the stone is weak. The flesh is creamy, tender, juicy, melting, with a sweet-and-sour taste. The juice is colorless. The stone is medium, rounded, free, and easily separates from the flesh. Taste rating of the fruits – 4.6 points. Fruits are resistant to splitting in prolonged rainy weather. Grafted trees begin bearing in 3-4 years after planting. Bears fruit on bouquet shoots and on one-year growth. Yield is average; at age 12 it is 45-50 kg per tree. The cultivar is self-sterile.

Best pollinators: Franz Joseph, Talisman, Yellow Drogana, Melitopol Black.

Hardiness zone: zone 4a (-30°C).

Location: prefers sunny, wind-sheltered sites. Does not like acidic soils or sites with a high groundwater level (not closer than 1.5 m). Best yields are on elevated sites, near fences or buildings where a lot of snow accumulates in winter. Winter hardiness and drought resistance are high.

Planting: planting is recommended in spring. Before planting it is necessary to improve the soil. The planting site should be dug to spade depth and fertilizers applied: manure or compost in the amount of 8-10 kg per sq. m, superphosphate – 150-200 g, potassium fertilizers – 100 g, or complex fertilizers – 150-200 g per sq. m. Recommended soil reaction pH 6.5-7. It is also recommended to add fertilizers to the planting hole – 10 kg of humus, non-acid peat or well-rotted compost, and 500 g of ash. The hole should be dug and prepared 2 weeks before planting.

Pruning: requires regular pruning during the fruiting period. From years 2-3 pruning is necessary – remove suckers, lower branches to form the trunk, shorten the leader by redirecting it to a lateral branch, and thin the crown. Pruning is done in early spring before bud swell.

Care: care consists of regular pruning. In spring and autumn it is necessary to whitewash the trunks and the bases of the scaffold branches. In autumn it is recommended to cover the trunks with spruce boughs or other material to protect against rodents. It is also necessary to protect ripe fruits from birds – special nets are used to cover the trees.

Diseases: the cultivar is moderately resistant to moniliosis and coccomycosis.

Pests: brown fruit mite, cherry sawfly, cherry slug sawfly, cherry tube borer, yellow plum sawfly, cambium borer, western bark beetle, tussock moth, fruit striped moth.

Propagation: propagated by grafting.

Use: the cultivar is one of the best, as it has a uniform yellow color, is little affected by the cherry fruit fly, and transports well.