There is just over a month left for the first edition of Cherry Tech, the largest technical event for cherries in Chile, which will take place on June 29 at the Sun Monticello Conference Center. The important event that will bring together the most relevant experts in the industry includes, in addition to three master classes, three forums with different themes: varietal replacement, post-harvest and nutrition.
The latter is entitled: "Calcium and Potassium: their fundamental role in the productive potential, quality and condition of the fruit" and will be moderated by Carlos Tapia, specialist advisor in cherry production, Founder and Technical Director of Avium.
“Among the essential nutrients for cherry production, in search of productive potential and enhancing quality, we are always interested in paying close attention to the role of calcium and potassium as two very important nutrients to achieve not only maximizing production, but also everything that is the condition and quality of the fruit; that is why we want to stop for a moment together with a discussion table where there are experts in the field of nutrition and analyze the fundamental role that these two nutrients have, also thinking about what is the essence of our cherry production, that we are an exporting country of this species and that this implies having fruit of the highest quality capable of withstanding long travel times and that arrives at its destination in the best possible condition,” said the cherry production specialist advisor.
Talking about nutrition…
The panel, headed by Carlos Tapia, will feature the participation of four experts in the field: José Ignacio Covarrubias, Master in Agricultural Sciences, Doctor in fruit trees and specialist in nutrition from the University of Chile; Rodrigo Ortega, specialist in soil fertility, plant nutrition and precision agriculture, academic at the Federico Santa María University, Concepción; Valeria Lepe, specialist advisor in nutrition of fruit species, member of GTT Frutales & Gestión and president of Pomanova; Óscar Carrasco, specialist advisor in agriculture, researcher in orchard management and professor at the University of Chile.
“My interest in participating in this meeting stems from my role as a cherry production advisor for several years, which is why I have seen the evolution of the crop first-hand, including changes in production systems, that is, varieties, rootstocks, training systems, advances in irrigation and nutrition technologies, protection systems (frost, rain), and an explosive increase in the surface area of the crop in new production areas (to the north and south), seeking to expand the supply of fruit throughout the season. The issue of nutritional management has evolved very intensely along with the need to have increasingly better quality fruit, capable of reaching the market in the best conditions for consumers, and not losing the prestige that has taken so long to build, said Oscar Carrasco, panelist at the Cherry Tech nutrition forum.
Valeria Lepe, a specialist in fruit species nutrition, who will also be a member of the nutrition panel, highlighted Cherry Tech as an important opportunity to address crucial issues in cherry production.
“This will be an event that will bring together the Chilean cherry production industry in a world-class and major event, with the idea of addressing highly relevant topics and with the objective of unifying criteria in some key management to achieve fruit with the highest standards of quality and caliber that are required for it to remain a competitive sector in world markets. Given that the differentiating factor will continue to be the quality of the final product, as the estimates of production volumes as a country will continue to increase. The integral concept of balanced nutrition is the starting point, always with a view to achieving the productive and quality objectives of the fruit, the specialist said.
José Ignacio Covarrubias, Master in Agricultural Sciences, Doctor in Fruit Trees and Nutrition Specialist from the University of Chile, for his part, thanked the invitation to participate in this interesting panel of experts who will analyze a topic as relevant as nutrition in cherry production.
“I feel very happy to participate in this activity, I think it is very positive that this event is organized, that it brings together the different sectors that make up the cherry industry, whether producers, farmers, exporters, advisors and people who come from the academy, I think it is very good to bring together the different sectors, to know the different visions and in this way to be able to learn and to strengthen the industry. On the other hand, it is an honor for me to share a forum with exponents of the quality of those who will be there, all of them great specialists in their areas, which is mineral nutrition; in this case, the The nutrition forum will focus on two minerals that are extraordinarily relevant in the characteristics and qualitative properties of cherries. Good quality is today an indispensable requirement for export; production that is not accompanied by quality ultimately does not have a good end in the cherry market, therefore it is something that is extremely important today." Covarrubias warned.
Finally, specialist Rodrigo Ortega, academic and founding member of the International Society of Precision Agriculture, referred to the need to investigate and explore more about the topic of nutrition and the different alternatives, considering that the industry faces the onslaught of climate change and high production costs.
“We will participate in a discussion on cherry nutrition with an emphasis on calcium nutrition, its effects on soil quality, yields and fruit quality. The topic is highly relevant because, in a context of climate change and high input costs, it is necessary to generate integrated soil management strategies and cherry nutrition; these will allow for better adaptation and greater tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress to achieve the productive objectives of good yields and high quality, with high productive efficiency,” The forums will be held after each of the three master classes that CerryTech includes, and will be taught by experts Carlos Tapia, Jordi Casas and Walter Masman. Tickets for the event are already available and can be purchased by writing to [email protected].
