The International Seminar on Early Cherries, which took place on March 21 and 22 in Mendoza, brought together 14 industry representatives, all focused on the purpose of providing important information for the benefit of the Argentine cherry industry.
Among the speakers, the presence of Chilean exhibitors stood out. Among them were Jorge Astudillo, production manager of Agroindustrial Valle Arriba; Margarita Torres, foreign trade and regulations manager of the Association of Nurseries of Chile; Patricio Saavedra, commercial manager of Agralia and Manuel Contreras, head of the Development and Research Department of Aminochem.
Each of the above-mentioned, and in their specific work, made interesting presentations, referring to crop management in Chile, and applied technologies to obtain better quality fruit.
Jorge Astudillo was the one who focused on cherry production, due to the similarity of the Mendoza orchards, with those he regularly works with in Ovalle.
“We are connected by latitude and we also have similar harvest start dates, just like here in Mendoza. We also share varieties such as Brooks and other new varieties that are being planted. The invitation I received was precisely for this reason from the Mendoza Chamber, so sharing these information needs is the common theme of both areas,” Astudillo indicated.
Along the same lines, the production manager of Agroindustrial Valle Arriba added about the positive aspects of his participation in the Second Seminar on Early Fresh Cherries that: “I mainly take away the interest of the public. It is clear that the interest in cherry cultivation is very healthy, with the intention of continuing to grow in surface area, improving quality and taking on challenges in technological and agronomic terms. It is very gratifying to be able to interact with producers and with the industry in general who seek excellence in terms of production, in order to be able to come out early with good fruit and thus reach the markets with the demands that this implies.”
On the other hand, Margarita Torres, manager of foreign trade and regulations at AGV, commented on her participation in the seminar that, “we came as representatives of Chilean nurseries, to be part of a discussion panel, in addition to giving a presentation on new cherry varieties, in order to provide a certain perspective of what the export of plants from Chile to Argentina is like.”
“It is important to highlight the agreement that exists jointly with the Argentine phytosanitary authority SENASA and the SAG of Chile, which allows us to bring plants directly into the field, without a quarantine process conditioned to complying with the requirements established in accordance with this protocol. This means for Chilean nurseries a facilitation in terms of the export process and for Argentine producers to have the most accessible availability of plants and genetics from our country,” concluded the AGV representative.
In turn, Patricio Saavedra, commercial manager of Agralia, who also participated in the portfolio of speakers speaking on the topic called: "Perfect combination for the advancement of fruit trees: Agricooler / Agricover", a technical presentation based on success stories in Chile, focused on the advancement of fruit in cherries, mainly.
Finally, Manuel Contreras, head of the Aminochem Research Department, closed the participation of Chilean exhibitors in Argentina, with two interventions - the first on day one, with a talk on nutrients and the second ending with an analysis of cultivation and vigor in the orchards, in addition to a soil analysis using a test pit.
This last instance was the one that put an end to the 2 days of the International Seminar on Early Fresh Cherries of Mendoza, which was attended by more than 240 people, between March 21 and 22 and which had great contributions from the Chilean exponents in terms of information for the development of the trans-Andean cherry industry.
