Cherry

Cherry cultivation

In the 1990s, Dutch cherries had become very rare indeed. The tall trees in the cherry orchards required a lot of manpower to harvest the fruit, driving up production costs. Smaller trees, called rootstocks, proved more fruitful, figuratively speaking. The fruit became easier to harvest. In the meantime, new, large and delicious cherries were cultivated, adding to the popularity of this fruit.

Most cherry trees are grown out in the open, but early cultivation is possible in greenhouses. Rain protection is often used in normal cultivation, as cherries are very sensitive to rain while ripening. If conditions are unfavourable, the cherries may burst making them unsellable. People are not the only ones who appreciate the flavour of cherries. Birds – particularly blackbirds and starlings – love them. To keep these birds away from the cherry trees, the orchards are often covered with bird screens.