The announcement of rainfall for the central part of the country brought with it a high possibility of causing damage to cherry orchards, mainly those that were in the phenological stages of beginning to appear/straw-coloured, where the fruit is more susceptible to damage from rain.
The first spring rains were recorded last weekend, followed by a second frontal system midweek. In total, both episodes left nearly 44 mm of rain, 14 more if we consider that the normal amount for a weather event at this time is 30 mm.
Producers prepared themselves with different strategies, all of which are very well detailed in the recently published article «The cursed spring: How to minimize the incidence of cracking due to rain»; however, the first damage to the fruit has already been seen.
«In Talhuén we have Rainier, Santina and Lapins; Rainier is in a more advanced sector, currently it was changing color, growing, and there we had 65 percent of damage in cracks and in Santina we had 20 percent damage in cracks, all of that was due to the rain before the one that fell on the 1st, which was much more massive and we are currently evaluating, but we do not see any increase in damage», explained David Devias, manager of the Talhuén cherry area.
Hacienda Colchagua, located in the O'Higgins region, has 180 hectares of cherries, 90 in San Miguel del Huique and 90 in Talhuén. They have Santina, Lapins, Frisco, Rainier varieties and new orchards of Sweet Aryana.
During the current season, they have seen some very particular scenarios in the trees, which they had previously only seen in blueberry plantations; these are very different phenological states in the same plant, such as flowering, setting and beginning of veraison at the same time, a situation that has certainly made management and applications more complex.
It's raining on wet ground
Unfortunately, the forecasts for spring rainfall continue; there is a 50% chance of rain for the following week in the central part of the country, which would arrive at a critical time for cherry production. Between Monday and Tuesday, 3 mm of rain could fall.
«Today it is quite complicated, there are applications, trying to dry fruit; as we do not have a roof, which is a much more viable strategy and a direct defense, we have to wait, make applications, but more than that nothing, because we do not have a more technical tool to be able to control», said David Devias, Talhuén cherry area manager.
There is still no complete record of the damage caused by the rain in the cherry orchards; in this context, Fedefrtua is gathering information to make an assessment of the situation.
