How do Tart Cherries Grow?

How do Tart Cherries Grow? An Instructional PowerPoint about one of Michigan’s leading crops By: Monica Clupper Click the button on the right to move to the next slide

Some Cheery Cherry Facts! • Traverse City (Michigan) is the Cherry Capital of the world. • On average, a tart cherry tree produces 7,000 cherries each season. On average, you need 250 cherries to make a cherry pie, that means, each tree could make about 28 cherry pies! • In 1974, Herb Teichman of Tree-Mendus Fruit in Eau Claire (Michigan) began the annual “Cherry Pit Spit” contest. Contestants compete to see who can spit a cherry pit the furthest. The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes this contest as an official event. • And last, but certainly not least….George Washington didn’t really chop down his father’s cherry tree. It was made up by Parson Mason Weems, a biographer who was trying to illustrate how honest Mr. Washington was. Click the button on the right to move to the next slide

Tart Cherries grow in stages… • Stage One • In the first stage, the bud is “Dormant”. That means that nothing’s happening to the fruit…yet! • Stage Two • In stage two, known as the “Bud Swell” stage, the buds begin to swell, but no green tissue can be seen. Click the button on the right to move to the next slide

Tart Cherries grow in stages… • Stage Three • In stage three, known as the “Side Green” stage, you can start to see green tissue on the sides of the bud. After this, “Green Tip” will develop and the top of the bud will now be green. • Stage Four • In stage four, known as “Tight Cluster” or “Bud Burst”, the top of the buds have opened and you can see the flower buds! Click the button on the right to move to the next slide

Tart Cherries grow in stages… • Stage Five • In stage five, known as the “Early White Bud” stage, the bud starts to open and you can see the white flowers tucked inside. • Stage Six • In the sixth stage, also known as “White Bud” stage or “Popcorn” stage, the bud grows and is almost ready to bloom! Click the button on the right to move to the next slide

Tart Cherries grow in stages… • Stage Seven • In the seventh stage, also known as “First Bloom”, the bud opens and petals appear. • Stage Eight • In the eighth stage, also known as “Full Bloom”, most of the buds on the tree have opened and the tree is covered in petals! Click the button on the right to move to the next slide

Tart Cherries grow in stages… • Stage Nine • In the ninth stage, also known as “Petal Fall”, the petals die and fall off. • Stage Ten • In the tenth stage, also known as “In the Shuck”, all the fruit (cherry) is hidden by the sepal and all of the petals have fallen off. The shuck is like a protective cover for the developing cherry. Click the button on the right to move to the next slide

Tart Cherries grow in stages… • Stage Eleven • In stage eleven, also known as “Shuck Split”, the shuck that hid the fruit (cherry) cracks open because the fruit has outgrown the shuck. The cherry now begins to grow! • Stage Twelve • You can’t see it, but when the cherry is between 12-13mm, the pit inside the cherry begins to harden. Click the button on the right to move to the next slide

Tart Cherries grow in stages… • Stage Thirteen • When the cherry is getting ready to ripen, it changes color from green to yellow, this is called “straw-colored”. • Stage Fourteen • In stage fourteen, also known as “Coloring Fruit”, the straw-colored cherries turn red. Click the button on the right to move to the next slide

Tart Cherries grow in stages… • Stage Fifteen • In stage fifteen, the cherries are ripe and ready to be harvested! Click the button on the right to move to the next slide

Question Time! What is the purpose of a shuck? • It pollinates the flower. • A shuck is the official name of the bud. • It protects the fruit that’s developing. • It peels apart the cherry. If you need help, click on the cherries on the top!

Great Job! Very good! You answered correctly! You may now move on by clicking the arrow in the bottom corner. Click the button on the right to move to the next slide

Oops! Looks like you misunderstood, but that’s alright! Click the arrow at the bottom of the page to go back and re-read the information again. Good luck! Click the button on the right to move to the next slide

References • Food Facts & Trivia: Cherries • http://www.foodreference.com/html/fcherries.html • George Washington’s Mount Vernon-George Washington Myths • http://www.mountvernon.org/visit/plan/index.cfm/pid/382/ • Michigan State University Extension’s Tart Cherry Growth Stages (all photos & growth information) • http://web1.msue.msu.edu/fruit/tchrygrw.htm • Microsoft Clip Art Gallery • http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us

How do Tart Cherries Grow?