Thinning will be important in highly efficient cherry systems like this Washington State University orchard that has angled fruiting walls comprised of vertical fruiting uprights. Flavorful, firm, and large sweet cherries must (and can) be grown within highly efficient orchard systems for growers to be successful. The potential shortages, and increasing expense, of skilled harvest labor are forcing growers to make radical changes in production systems from the classic Bing/Mazzard system of old. New scion and rootstock genotypes are critical to this transition. Irrespective of variety, the production economics associated with the precocity induced by the Gisela rootstocks are compelling. […]