Abstract
Excessive tree vigour and late entrance into full production, inherent to sweet cherry trees, are major challenges in the intensive cultivation of this crop. Possible ways to reduce the vigour and stimulate flower induction include shifting the term of pruning and reducing its severity. However, the reaction of the trees may differ depending on specific cultivar, soil and climatic conditions. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine the effect of various tech niques and terms of pruning on young sweet cherry trees in order to adapt the intensive cultivation technology to the arid conditions of southern Ukraine. The results showed a strong cultivarspecific reaction to various pruning treat ments. Pruning young sweet cherry trees in late summer contributed to a reduction of trunk and canopy indices by 1122% on one of the cultivars and an increase in the number of flowers per tree by 1.41.7 times on both cultivars, compared to dormant pruning. Low severity pruning reduced 1yearold shoot length by 925% and increased the number of flowers by 1.52.5 times com pared to more aggressive pruning. The effect of pruning treatments on tree vigour was more pronounced during the first and second year of their application.