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This study was done to (i) compare seven types of natural or horticultural injuries and wounds for incidence, severity, and mortality of infection of sweet cherry (Prunus avium) by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae; (ii) determine the relative resistance to bacterial canker of 14 cultivar–rootstock combinations; (iii) determine if P. syringae pv. syringae is transmitted by contaminated pruning tools; and (iv) determine if summer and winter pruning cuts become resistant to infection. Infection occurred at all of the seven types of injury and wound sites on both cvs. Sunset Bing and Golden Heart. Infection of inoculated wounds made in spring and summer (heading cuts when trees were planted, scoring cuts, and summer pruning) resulted in the greatest canker incidence and severity. Inoculation of heading cuts resulted in the highest tree mortality (86%). ‘Bing’ and ‘Sweetheart’ were the most susceptible cultivars while ‘Regina’ and ‘Rainier’ appeared to be more resistant. Bing trees had the highest mortality of any cultivar with 70% dead at the end of the 3-year study. Canker severity of the three rootstocks varied considerably but mortality was greatest for trees on Gisela 6 (77%). Bacterial canker was not transmitted in summer or winter by cutting through active cankers, then immediately using the same pruning tool to make heading cuts on healthy trees. Heading cuts became resistant to infection after about 1 week in summer and 3 weeks in winter. Results are discussed as part of an integrated management program for bacterial canker of sweet cherry.

Additional index words. Corylus avellana, fruit set, nut quality, canopy management, gas exchange Abstract. In hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.), vigorous vegetative growth and traditional orchard practices that include little or no pruning combine to produce a dense, shady canopy. A study designed to quantify the effect of shade on reproduction and photosynthetic rate in this shade-tolerant species was undertaken to assess whether some degree of pruning might improve productivity. Shade cloth was used to exclude 30%, 47%, 63%, 73%, or 92% of ambient sunlight from whole 'Ennis' and 'Barcelona' trees from mid-May until harvest. Photosynthetic light response curves were obtained for leaves that had developed in full sunlight, deep inside the canopy of unshaded trees, or in 92% shade. Light-saturated net photosynthetic rates were 12.0, 6.1, and 9.3 µmol·m -2 ·s -1 of CO 2 and dark respiration rates were 2.0, 1.1, and 0.7 µmol·m -2 ·s -1 of CO 2 , respectively, for the three light regimes. Light-saturated photosynthetic rates of leaves from 30% or 63% shade differed little from the control (0% shade). Area per leaf increased by 49% and chlorophyll concentration (dry weight basis) by 157% as shading increased from 0% to 92%. Shading to 92% reduced specific leaf weight (68%), stomatal density (30%), light compensation point (69%), and dark respiration rate (63%) compared to controls. Female inflorescence density declined by about one-third and male inflorescence density by 64% to 74% in the most heavily shaded trees of both cultivars compared to controls. Shade was more detrimental to yield than flowering: yield per tree dropped by >80%, from 2.9 to 3.4 kg in full sun to 0.6 to 0.9 kg in 92% shade. Shade reduced yield primarily by decreasing nut number and secondarily by decreasing nut size. The incidence of several kernel defects increased as shade increased. Therefore, hazelnut leaves showed considerable capacity to adapt structurally and functionally to shade, but improving light penetration into the canopy would probably increase orchard productivity.

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