Many producers, exporters and consultants will have their first productive experience with these varieties this spring. Although in terms of volumes they will not be large, it will be a very important season, since they will be presented collectively to receivers and consumers, with the prestige of both varieties at stake in these first shipments.
ANA Chile® intends to invite those who will produce and export these varieties to work collectively and responsibly to achieve the best quality of fruit. In this regard, we spoke with the cherry specialist, Agronomist Walter Masman, who together with Lorena Pinto – Head of Product for Pomegranates & Cherries at ANA Chile®, explain the key management to achieve good potential in terms of fruit production and quality.
Between Nimba cv. and Sweet Aryana®, more than 600 hectares established between 2020 and 2021, will have their first production this season, where it will be critical to correctly adjust the load to maximum yields that ensure the obtaining of quality fruit, preventing softening due to excess fruit on the tree.
Walter Masman comments that both Nimba cv. and Sweet Aryana® are early varieties and this attractive harvest window should be taken advantage of, but he warns that one should avoid falling into the temptation of harvesting early, without reaching the appropriate maturity and expression of quality.
Nimba cv.
It is an extra early variety, with very good size, flavor and productivity. It is harvested between 16 and 20 days before Santina, that is, the last week of October to the first days of November in the central zone.
Walter Masman indicates that The main harvest parameter for Nimba is color. The fruit should be harvested at colour 3 and not exceed colour 3.5, because when it reaches 3.5 it will have already dropped between 2 to 3 Durofel firmness points.
To obtain quality fruit in Nimba cv. orchards, Load regulation is one of the most important keysIn this regard, Lorena Pinto points out that Nimba cv. is a very productive and load-bearing variety, which, although not self-fertile, behaves as if it were. To prevent soft fruit (below 70 Durofel) it is essential to avoid overloading. Fruit with lower firmness does not meet the requirements of our markets and can be serious for the prestige of this early variety.
Proper load adjustment is crucial to avoid fruit softening.
The experience of several years of evaluations of Nimba cv. and the foreign experience collected in multiple visits to Spanish orchards, shows that there can be a significant loss in the quality of the fruit. by softening associated with excess load, a situation that is not difficult to achieve given its great precocity and productivity, which is why it is necessary to keep in mind and consider it when defining pruning and adjusting loads.
Walter Masman gives recommendations regarding the maximum production that should be aimed for, depending on the year the orchard was planted: considering the early entry into production of the variety, he advises adjusting the loads of orchards planted in 2020, aiming for productions between 3,000 to 4,000 kg/ha, depending on the rootstock and the density of the orchard, and in no case exceeding 3 kg of fruit per tree. For orchards planted in 2021, between 1,000 and 1,500 kg/ha. The above, considering that we are dealing with a good average orchard that has had good development in its first years of growth.
To achieve these production objectives, Walter Masman provides us, through a pair of videos, a valuable training pruning guideline for Nimba cv. and a production pruning guideline for Sweet Aryana®, with the clear objective of adjusting the supply of production centers to the maximum yields recommended for the age of these plants. We invite you to watch the videos that can be found in the following links:
VIDEO PRUNING GUIDELINES FOR NIMBA cv. ON COLT, PLANTING YEAR 2021:
SWEET ARYANA® PRODUCTION PRUNING GUIDELINES VIDEO ON COLT, PLANTATION YEAR 2020:
Source: Ana Chile.
