Growth performance of wild cherry (Prunus avium L.) clones in planted forests under different managements in Galicia, NW Spain

Abstract

Abstract Wild cherry (Prunus avium L.) is one of the main valuable temperate broadleaved species from Europe considering the market appreciation of their timber. In the present study we analyzed the growth performance of different wild cherry clones under different management treatments. A field trial was settled in Bosques Naturales S.A. “Sendelle” forests (Arzúa, Galicia, NW Spain) with a multifactorial design to analyze the effect of clones (4 clones), pruning intensity (33 % and 50 % of total height) and fertilization (3 treatments). It was monitored for 8 years. Clone was found out to be the most important variable in this study while tree growth was neither significantly affected by the pruning intensity nor the fertilization treatments. Clone selection is highlighted as a key issue in wild cherry commercial planted forests for timber production and the selected C-15 clone shows an excellent field performance compared to other clones based on the trial and the literature, reaching a DBH of 14 cm after eight years.