Just as Macfrut, one of Italy's largest fruit and vegetable fairs, was taking place, news arrived of the damage caused by the rains to cherries in Bisceglie and Corato, both in the Puglia region.
There were only a few days left before the harvest began and unfortunately a frontal system caused serious complications and cracks in early varieties such as Bigarreau, Roma and Ferrovia.
We spoke to Cataldo Lobascio, an agricultural engineer and consultant on cherry production in southern Italy, where about 70 percent of Italian cherries are produced.
“After the rains we have had sunny and clear days, but the cherries that were damaged by the rains were unfortunately lost; one of the varieties is the Bigarreau and also the Early Lory and Sweetheart. Now we are starting with the harvest of the Bigarreau, which in the earliest zone has a red colour; the mid-late varieties are in the growth phase. We are carrying out interventions to prevent rain damage with calcium and magnesium, to improve size and colour level.”, said Cataldo Lobascio.
Producers are working on the best strategies to avoid further damage from rain, in a spring that has left late precipitation, threatening the production of earlier cherries in southern Italy.
