The 2023-2024 season was one of the most complex in history for cherry producers, with several factors coming together, including floods, spring rains and low accumulation of chill hours.
In the north of our country, more precisely in the Ovalle area, the accumulation of winter cold was a real headache; although every season it is a challenge to meet the requirements of each variety, last year this was even more complex.
«Last season was the most complex we have had in terms of cold accumulation, reaching in the Tabalí area, which is where the largest surface area of cherries is concentrated here in ovale, close to 110 hours of cold, around 15 portions of cold, that between the months of May and June», explained Jorge Astudillo, production manager of Agroindustrial Valle Arriba.
So far this year, the reality is completely different; in fact, it is expected that it will be a year of good cold accumulation in the Ovalle area.
» This year, unlike last year, we are completely the opposite, we are having a very cold autumn that began in mid-April, marked by the first hours, today we already have 115 hours of cold and more than 15 portions of cold, practically equal to last year and the expectation is that we have a better accumulation, to that we add the rainfall recorded a few weeks ago, where in Tabalí we already had 30 mm and we hope to have another 20-30 mm more in a couple of days more, it gives us ideal conditions to do the dormancy and also to take advantage of the potential of all the varieties "There are varieties that are present in the valley that require more cold, less cold, so we will be able to manage that better," explained Jorge Astudillo.
Producing cherries in the northern area
Ovalle cherries are the delicacies of each season; last year, they were the first fruits of this species to be harvested and exported from the southern hemisphere. Their production is different from that of the rest of the country due to several aspects, above all because such an essential factor for cherry cultivation, such as the accumulation of winter cold, is very variable.
«Dormancy in Ovalle occurs at a much shorter date than usual compared to the central or southern area; we begin dormancy ideally in mid-April, until the beginning of July, so obviously we have to have a well-used space, which forces us to have a well-controlled and well-finished post-harvest between March and the beginning of April," added Astudillo.
Fortunately, technology offers an alternative to cherry producers in areas such as these, where rainfall is scarce and the accumulation of cold hours is not a constant.
«Each season is different from the other, we have had autumns where the summer is longer and there is no difference between February, March, April, even until May, barely managing to achieve dormancy conditions in July: What are the alternatives that we have found to face these types of years, when we have the «veroños», is it from the use of technological packs that allow the control of radiation, for example, but the use of cyanamide and some budding homogenizers is also important to be able to start some recess periods that are low in cold accumulation? » concluded the production manager of Agroindustrial Valle Arriba.
