NC-140 Cherry Rootstock Trial

Stick with Mahaleb for 'Montmorency' on good cherry soils.
Change to 'MxM® 2'™ for tarts on poor cherry soils.
Consider trying Gi 148 family of Gisela® Series for sweets:
Gisela® 5 = Gi 148-2 about 40-50% of Mazz.
Gisela® 7 = Gi 148-8 about 30-50% of Mazz. (some suckers & virus concerns ?)
Gisela® 6 = Gi 148-1 about 50-70% (?) of Mazz.
'MxM® 2'™ for uniform performance and cropping of processing sweets. Vigor exceeds Mazz.
Consider trying 'MxM® 60'™ for processing sweets for a slightly smaller tree than 'MxM® 2'™; good livability.
INTENSIFY CULTURAL MANAGEMENT: Irrigation, strong annual trimming and pruning are ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to retain fruit size with Gisela® Series trees.
Remember that only 'Hedelfingen' trials are mature to date, so other varieties may give different results for you.

*The suggestions listed here are the results of NC-140 cherry trials planted in 1987 that tried 19 stocks. Tests were conducted in Eastern cherry states: Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin; and Arkansas, Maryland, Ohio and Kansas, as well as the province of Ontario. Our suggestions should be treated as preliminary results.

NC-140 WESTERN* SWEET
CHERRY/rootstocks KEY OBSERVATIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Based on preliminary results (7 seasons)

'Bing' has been precocious (3rd leaf fruiting) and is very productive on the following Gisela® rootstocks:
- Gisela 5® = Gi 148-2 about 50-55% of Mazz.
- Gisela 12® = Gi 195-2 about 70-75% of Mazz.
- Gisela 6® = Gi 148-1 about 90-95% of Mazz.
Virus tolerance in the 3 rootstocks above appears to be as good as Mazzard, Mahaleb and 'Colt'; some others that showed adverse sensitivity were culled.
Successful intensive culture of trees on precocious, productive rootstocks requires very careful attention to pruning, irrigation and nutrition. The most dwarfing combinations need more vigor stimulation to promote shoot growth and fruit size.
Dwarf cherry orchards deserve better sites for frost protection because flowers are concentrated close to the ground.
Processing cherry rootstock decisions probably require more emphasis on yield than fruit size or tree vigor.
Consider trying 'MxM® 60'™ for processing sweets for a more productive tree than 'F12/1'; better drought tolerance and bacterial canker tolerance equal to 'F12/1'.
Remember that only 'Bing' trials are mature to date, so other varieties may give different results for you.
Both 'MxM®39' and 'Gisela® 12' were equal to Mahaleb in Oregon for Montmorency with 'Gisela® 12' preferred for droughty sites and 'MxM®39' for wet soils.

* The suggestions listed here are the preliminary results of NC-140 cherry trials planted in 1987 to evaluate 19 stocks in British Columbia, California, Colorado, Oregon , Utah and Washington.

Preliminary Performance of Hedelfingen Cherry on Ten Rootstocks in the 1998 NC-140 Cherry Rootstock Trial

Preliminary Performance of Montmorency Cherry on Eleven Rootstocks in the 1998 NC-140 Trial

1998 NC-140 Cherry Rootstock Trial Update, presented by Ron Perry at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the IDFTA, Hamilton, Ontario CANADA, February 20-24, 1999