Características de la disponibilidad de frío invernal para cerezos en la zona norte de la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina

the lack of winter chilling has an effect on fruit quality and yield in stone fruits. sweet cherry trees have strong winter chilling demands. the accumulation of modified utah chill units (mucu) observed in these areas, san martín and junín, is variable. in these areas, the cultivation of the sweet cherry tree has not spread yet. junín shows a mean of 884 mucu, meanwhile san martín has 816 mucu, just enough for low requirement varieties. however, 95% of winters oscillated between 459 and 1310 mucu for junín, and 390 to 1241 mucu for san martín. in both areas only 45% of the years reaches 900 mucu, while probabilities to fulfill 900 mucu are 57% and 41% for junín and san martín respectively. the probability of 1200 mucu is 8% and 5% for junín and san martín. this study establishes the basis that should be considered for sweet cherry development projects in areas with low chilling availability and no experience in crop production. moreover, it allows to select more adapted varieties and to develop crop zoning.