We headed to the Pimpinela sector, Requinoa, in the O'Higgins region, where we spoke with Ramón Jubal, Agricultural Manager of Agrícola CV SPA. The orchard has 172 hectares, 70 of them with Santina, 40 of Lapins and the rest divided into other varieties, in order to stagger the harvest.
When do you normally start with the first harvest?
«November 15 is not that early, but the fruit comes out well and we don't usually have any problems.»
The accumulation of Chilling Hours has just ended on July 31st. How did you do in this regard and what do you expect for the spring, dormancy breakers?
«The issue is very complex. For many years we have been based mainly on cold hours, but about 7-8 years ago everything that is cold portions came to the fore and this year the paradox was that we did not reach the cold hours, there was no way, but we did reach the portions, so we are making the decision and today everything that is the application of accelerators was done based on the cold portions. We have studied that, for example, if we have less than 240 cold hours in June it will be a bad year. This year we had 172 hours, it does not bode well for a good year, but we still have to continue working in the same way.»
What are the main challenges of this season, which is very different from the previous one, considering that we have a late Chinese New Year?
«We mainly aimed for the early season, Santina. We did the same as always, trying to go out on that date and staggering Lapins more, so that we would go out at the beginning of December and then continue with Sweetheart and Regina afterwards, to try to stagger it. We didn't want to delay it any further either, because we have to start with a flow of people, which is not small, there are approximately 170 people, and we have to give them a flow in terms of the quantity and quality of fruits that have to be harvested.
To which destinations do you export and what do you think of the proposal to diversify markets?
«We mainly export to China and I think we need to start diversifying markets and India has opened up in recent years, but the returns are not yet clear, as is the way the fruit is handled there in post-harvest, once it arrives, but I think we clearly need to start opening up to other markets.»
Returning to the orchard and specifically to frost control, it is expected that these climatic episodes will occur that can cause damage to cherry trees within the first phenological stages; how do they control frosts at Agrícola AC?
«We have 10 five-blade propellers and we have a garden that is very close to a large town and we have water control, so we are protected in that respect; paradoxically, in other years we have started monitoring around July 20, but this year we have had no events, but that does not mean that it will be a normal year, I think that events will come a little later, we will clearly have the presence of frosts.»
Santina is expected to be the new queen, dethroning Lapins; you have many hectares of Santina, how do you see that outlook?
«We have done well with Lapins, we have very good sizes; Lapins and Santina are totally different, Santina has a very short cycle, so you have to worry a lot about all the applications, you have to do it in a short time, and Lapins, on the other hand, that it can withstand better sizes and all that; which one is the queen? I don't know, there are many varieties coming into the business that are not as studied, but for the moment we are in this. Next year we have to change 10 hectares that are very old, they are from 1986, we have to look for new varieties and there we may go with these new ones that come out a little earlier.«.
Join the varietal replacement?
«Yeah, Now I don't know if it's a very good strategy, because if at some point Peru were to get into this business, they would always leave between October and mid-November, so I would try to move a little bit trying to get out of Peru, which at some point will have to produce," concluded Ramón Jubal, cherry producer and Agricultural Manager of Agrícola CV SPA.
