Financial and economic comparison between establishing a standard and high density sweet cherry orchard in Oregon, USA

The economics of a standard-density Prunus avium 'Bing' orchard on Mazzard rootstock, planted on a 4.88- by 6.1-m spacing (337 trees per ha) was compared to a high-density 'Bing' orchard on Gisela 6 rootstock planted on a 3- by 4.9-m spacing (672 trees per ha). The price of the fruit was set at US $1.54 per kg. The full production yield is 13,450 kg per ha in a standard-density orchard and 15,243 kg per ha in a high-density orchard. Although planting the high-dcnsity orchard requires $2,943 per ha more in cash cost than the standard-density orchard, the benefits are realized when all economic costs are included. At the end of the establishment period (5 years for a high-density orchard, 8 years for a standard-density orchard), the standard-density orchard will cost $9,269 more per ha than the high-density orchard. The break-even year in which gross income covers all previous years' economic costs is year 8 for the high-density orchard and year 15 for the standard-density orchard. The return on investment over a 25-year period shows both systems returning a significant rate, with the high-density returning 22-percent, compared to the standard-density with a 16-percent rate of return on investment.