Soil biota from newly established orchards are more beneficial to early growth of cherry than biota from older orchards

Abstract: Due to climate change, it is predicted that the area suitable for cherry production will expand into northern and higher elevation areas, which now have warmer temperatures and a longer growing season. We tested if soils that had not previously grown tree fruits were more ‘biologically suitable’ for sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) production than soils used for orchard production for more than 10 years.