On December 5, the University of Talca was the epicenter of the seventh edition of Cherry Expo, an event organized by ANA Chile, which has been consolidating itself as a reference in the world of cherries, especially addressing the topic of varietal innovation.
This year, the exhibition, in addition to talks, featured an outstanding display of varieties, including names such as Nimba, Pacific Red, Sweet Aryana, Sweet Gabriel, Epic 16, and a promising addition in the evaluation phase called Nipama. The latter is distinguished by its need for few hours of chilling, opening up new possibilities in regions with less cold climates.
Lorena Pinto, cherry product manager at ANA Chile, shared crucial information about the new varieties established in Chile.
“Our role at ANA Chile is to capture new varieties and we represent them here and license them to our partner nurseries which are El Tambo, Univiveros, Buenos Aires de Angol and Los Olmos and they have this license to propagate them,” said the ANA Chile representative.
In turn, Lorena Pinto added that: “The reception of new things in general is good, because there is a lot of anxiety among producers regarding what a varietal replacement means, moving away from varieties such as Santina or Lapins, but the important thing and the call I made at this Expo Cherrys, is to understand the functioning of the cherry tree, how it responds to winter cold, cold springs and to understand how it works and also to go based on what we have experienced this year, to see what type of variety adapts to the needs of each one, so that the producer has less risk in investment with varieties that perhaps can arrive with better conditions, larger caliber, since around 2026 we will have Santina and Lapins flooding the market, therefore we need to compete for quality”.
From Viveros El Tambo, partners of ANA Chile, they commented that as a commercial team they are aware that this seminar is attractive for producers in the area who may be interested in the cherry varieties with which we are licensed. This was confirmed by Marcia Barraza, commercial manager of El Tambo: “As every year, it is an attractive opportunity to compare management experiences, see how the market is coming and learn about the behavior of the varieties in harvest and shipping with the opening of boxes.”
For his part, Pablo Salas, representative and producer of the Santa Inés de Malloa and Tinguiririca orchards, expressed the importance of events such as Cherry Expo to acquire knowledge and experience about new varieties. Salas highlighted the intention of his orchard to make modifications and adopt more recent varieties, such as Pacific Red, to stay at the forefront of the industry.
Walter Masman, a technical advisor specialising in cherry trees, also praised the Cherry Expo initiative, highlighting its importance for producers to make informed decisions.
“I think these instances are fabulous, because they allow all producers to make decisions, first knowing the most important thing, which is the fruit, the product I have, many of them associated with a post-harvest, or a simulation of a ship to establish if it effectively meets the requirements of firmness, flavor and acidity. Well, everything that our clients evaluate us today, therefore, it is important for the producer to know, that is what these types of instances are for,” said the technical advisor on cherry trees.
In this way, the seventh edition of Cherry Expo made it clear that the cherry industry in Chile continues to advance towards excellence, driven by innovation and acquired knowledge.
