Royal Edie Cherry Tree Pollination and Growth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cherry tree varieties lack a cultivar that combines large fruit size, delayed maturity, and vigorous growth with self-sterility, making efficient pollination and harvesting challenging.
Innovation Solution
A new cherry tree variety (Prunus avium) developed through open pollination of a proprietary seedling selection, budded onto 'Mahaleb' Rootstock, exhibiting larger fruit size, later maturity, and vigorous upright growth, requiring a pollinator for fruit set.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a cherry tree variety is selected for large fruit size and delayed maturity, then fruit quality and harvesting efficiency are improved, but pollination reliability deteriorates due to self-sterility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a pollinator variety (Royal Edie) that acts as an intermediary to enable cross-pollination. The self-sterile '25Z1046' variety requires the pollinator to transfer pollen, resolving the contradiction between delayed maturity/large fruit size and pollination reliability through a mediating species.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the genetic parameters of the cherry tree variety by creating a self-sterile line ('25Z1046') with specific mating system characteristics. This parameter change allows for controlled pollination while maintaining the desired fruit characteristics of large size and delayed maturity.
2Productivity
If a cherry tree variety is developed with vigorous growth and regular fruiting, then tree productivity is improved, but tree size management becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a vase-shaped tree architecture with specific crotch angles (25-30 degrees) and branch orientation. This localized structural modification allows vigorous growth and regular fruiting while maintaining manageable tree size through controlled branching patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates dynamic growth characteristics where the tree maintains vigorous upright growth initially but transitions to a more controlled vase shape as it matures. The crotch angle increases from 25 degrees in youth to 30 degrees in maturity, allowing the tree to adapt its structure over time to balance productivity with manageability.
3Reliability
If existing cherry varieties are used for pollination, then pollination function is provided, but harvesting efficiency decreases due to different maturity times
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the pollination function with the fruit production function by developing a pollinator variety (Royal Edie) that matures at the same time as the self-sterile variety ('25Z1046'). This merging allows both varieties to be harvested together, eliminating the time loss associated with harvesting different maturity stages and improving overall productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A new and distinct variety of cherry tree. The following features of the tree and its fruit are characterized with the tree budded on ‘Mahaleb’ Rootstock (non-patented), grown on Handford sandy loam soil with Storie Index rating 95, in USDA Hardiness Zone 9, near Modesto, Calif., with standard commercial fruit growing practices, such as pruning, thinning, spraying, irrigation and fertilization. Its novelty consist of the following combination of desirable features:1. Fruit maturing in late maturity season.2. Fruit with attractive red skin color.3. Fruit with very good flavor and eating quality.4. Heavy and regular production of large size fruit.5. Vigorous, upright growth of tree.