The purpose of this study was to practice and improve the use of low volume crowns in a high-density system in order to obtain qualitative cherry production that would be competitive on the market and to make efficient use of the labor force. The research was carried out in the intensive cherry orchard planted in the autumn of 2011 with “Ferrovia”, “Kordia”, and “Regina” varieties, grafted on Gisela 6 (Prunus cerasus × Prunus canescens) rootstock interspaced at 4x2.5 m and managed according to the Ameliorated natural crown systems with low volume, Ameliorated Slender Spindle and Vase shaped crown. Harvest, diameter, firmness, dry matter content and fruit weight were determined. The trees started to yield in the third year after planting. The harvest in the second year of yielding was 4-5 kg/tree. The average harvest in the third year of yielding was 9640-13290 kg/ha. For all three varieties the harvested quantity and fruit size were correlated with the crown shape. The Ameliorated Slender Spindle crown provided the highest production per hectare, while the Flattened Vase Shaped crown provided the lowest yield but had the highest values of the fruit size (28.2-28.4 mm) and of the soluble dry matter in the fruit (17.9-18.6 Brix%).

Cherry technology is permanently modernized due to new varieties, vegetal rootstocks and new tree management systems. The cherry varieties “Bigarreau Burlat”, “Ferrovia” and “Lapins”, grafted on Gisela 6 (Prunus cerasus × Prunus canescens) rootstock at distances of 5x1.5 m; 5x2.0 m; 5x2.5 m, were studied in the southern area of the Republic of Moldova. The trees were shaped by the Ameliorated natural reduced-volume crown and Slender Spindle Ameliorated form. Cherry trees start to yield in the fourth year after planting; the largest total fruit production from the tree was obtained in the variant with trees planted at a distance of 5x2.5 m and per hectare, when the trees were planted at a distance of 5x1.5 m. In the fourth year of yielding, the production of “Ferrovia” cherry variety, where the trees were shaped by the Ameliorated natural crown with low volume constituted 15368-18155 kg/ha, and at the time the “Slender Spindle Ameliorated” form, constituted 16904 -20074 kg/ha. Although the results are preliminary, it seems that high-density planting systems combined with low-power vegetal rootstocks and improved crowns can give higher yields of cherries in the first 4 years than the traditional improved crown system with low volume.