Flowering of Sweet Cherries “Prunus avium” in Tunisia

Abstract

In Tunisia, the development of cherry growing is limited by two major constraints, namely, the chilling requirements and the self-incompatibility of some cultivars. In order to contribute to the development of this high added-value culture, which is capable to play an important socioeconomic role in rural and semi-forestry places, this study has set the main objective, characterization, and selection of best-suited cultivars to mild winter based on the blooming period. The plant materials used for this study are composed of the introduced cultivars, which are “Napoleon,” “Van,” “Moreau,” “Sunburst,” and “Stella,” and unknown cultivars, which are “V1,” “V2,” “V3,” “V4,” and “V5,” and a local one “Bouargoub.” Differential behavior between cultivars was shown for phenological stages (budbreak, flowering, maturity, and leaf fall), and this behavior is dependent in some cases on the cold requirement [chilling requirements (CR)]. The local cultivar “Bouargoub” recorded the lowest “CR” with early flowering and maturity.