On Wednesday, October 18, a series of trainings Aimed at various fruit exporting and packing companies with the aim of preparing their pre- and post-harvest teams to face a demanding season, pressured by an unstable climate that could result in various phytopathological problems in cherry production.
In this first instance it was the turn of Copefrut and Roquefort, both companies from the region of
Maule, where production and post-harvest teams returned to plant pathology classes
university, but in their own workplaces and very grounded in the reality of the industry
local cherry tree.
Ángel Lueiza, Quality and Postharvest specialist at Copefrut, referred to the relevance of this type of training: "They are very important for teams to acquire the tools through knowledge and to be able to better describe, with foundation, the problems associated with the fruit in the different stages of the production chain (orchard, reception of raw materials, packing and also upon arrival), especially in a complex year like this one, where the weather is being the protagonist of a large number of phenomena that occur both in the pre and post-harvest of the fruit."
The training consists of 3 modules, the first is a talk that contextualizes, deepens and
updates knowledge of all pathogens that today can become a pain in the neck
head for cherry production. Alternaria, Botrytis and other stone guests such as
Geotrichum are analyzed for epidemiology, symptomatology and control, establishing
This forms a series of basic procedures for its successful management.
The second module is completely practical and is taught by Dr. Cecilia Ramos; first,
They review macroscopic aspects of pathogens, for this a wide set of plates with different
Fungi can be observed, then passed to microscopy with fixed preparations
previously made and the assistants are also taught to make their preparations so that they can make their own diagnoses. Another important part is the design of
humid chambers which is taught by the Head of Microbiology at Diagnofruit, Macarena Toledo,
where companies also keep the material so they can copy the techniques.
Roquefort Exporter.
A third module will be carried out later in the season and the objective is to apply everything learned.
in the first two classes, but now with the fruit live and in person; in this way Diagnofruit closes the training cycle with all the necessary stages to make more precise diagnoses or
less progress in the knowledge of the different problems.
In the coming days, important companies will continue the path of training their teams
technicians, including Ranco Cherries, Greenvic, MACE and DOLE will be visited by microscopes,
lighters and Petri dishes, to continue moving towards a sustainable industry.
