Last week, a highly significant event for the cherry industry in the Maule Region was held, organized jointly by Kelpak, Nitro Break and the Agricultural Dairy Cooperative of Santiago Ltda. (CALS). Nearly 100 cherry producers gathered at the prestigious Club de la Unión to share knowledge, experiences and the latest developments in agricultural practices.
The event began with two outstanding presentations by Pedro Larraín Palacios, Kelpak's technical and marketing manager for Latin America. The first presentation addressed the use of Nitro Break, a nitrification inhibitor that has proven to be essential in the post-harvest process.
The joint application of Nitro Break with nitrogen fertilizers during the months of March and April has shown a positive correlation with fruit set and spring applications, as well as with caliber control.
“We concluded the presentation based on the application process of the product to organic matter, trying to recover nitrogen from it, using only this inhibitor, without any other type of fertilizers during spring,” Larraín said.
Meanwhile, in the second presentation, the work carried out by Kelpak was highlighted based on two different application periods. The first during flowering, focused on fruit setting and retention, and the second on the hardening of the stone and straw-coloured fruit, aimed at avoiding fruit blotchiness and increasing sizes.
In response to this presentation, the brand representative said: “The positive results obtained in the 6-application program have been validated in work carried out with the Avium team, known for its experience in cherry cultivation.”
Carlos Tapia, a specialist advisor on cherries and technical director of Avium, shared his enthusiasm for the event and the level of attendance, which during the day addressed key issues for the success of the season, such as cold hours, fertility of the floral offer, among others.
“A very well-organized event shared with the people of Kelpak, Nitro Break and CALS, with a very interesting turnout, with a final conversation where we were able to answer many questions about the changes that need to be promoted in order to achieve the best productive potential of the orchards in a season that has been just as challenging as those that have been dragging on for years,” said Carlos Tapia.
The meeting turned out to be a space for learning and exchanging ideas, where attendees were able to clear up doubts and obtain valuable information to face the challenges of cherry production.
