The famous CNY, a date that marks a before and after in the price of this fruit species, motivated the agricultural teams to generate strategies to advance flowering and harvest, taking into account the risks that this entails, but also the objective of harvesting earlier and being part of the fruit exported to China that is sold before the holiday. Added to this were fears regarding logistical problems in the ports and wholesale markets of the Asian country over the last two years and the usual unforeseen events: rain in the middle of November and a truckers' strike that threatened to interrupt the transfer of the fruit to be shipped.
Despite everything, the technical and productive balance of the 2022-23 cherry season is positive; the season started with a good and orderly accumulation of cold hours, which generated, together with dormancy-breaking treatments perhaps a little more aggressive than in other seasons, thinking of advancing, having very early flowering in some areas, and even in some varieties.
Santina is a variety that in the central area, even in early areas, flowers after September 20 under normal conditions or taking recent years as a reference, on this occasion there were Santina blooms close to September 10-15, which does not cease to attract attention; however, after flowering, the advance of the phenology was not sustained due to the low temperatures that spring presented, which caused that at a certain point in the season the gain in advance in flowering that our technical team was able to verify in the field was not maintained. Finally, the first part of the harvest took place on the same dates as the 2021-22 season.
Although the harvest started on very similar dates to the previous year, the season was very short compared to others. Regina, for example, which is a variety that should have finished the last week of December or perhaps in some parts of the central zone the first week of January, finished even before December 25, always speaking of the bulk of this variety, so the last part of the season was accelerated a bit.
This did not affect the quality in any way, but it was clearly a benefit in commercial terms, considering that from the beginning of the season it was clear that those who harvested before December 15 would be able to arrive in the Asian country before the Chinese New Year; if previous years were taken as a reference, it was possible to estimate that only 20-30 percent of the fruit would be shipped on time. Fortunately, the story was different and what seemed like a negative point could be a positive one.
If there was something that caught the attention during the 2022-23 cherry season, it was a slightly more striking episode of fruit stagnation; according to the conclusions of the Avium technical team, it is possible to point out that there was a higher rate of stagnation in early areas than in late areas, in warmer areas than in colder areas; on the other hand, in situations where there were earlier blooms, a slightly more powerful stagnation occurred and that probably has to do with a carbohydrate issue and the plant running out of gasoline and having to shed fruit, but it is a situation that requires greater monitoring and analysis and that, by the way, Avium is constantly studying.
Another of the season's details was the spring rain that affected a significant part of the central area of the country, even in mountainous areas with hail; although this type of phenomenon is harmful at this time of year, and can cause fruit to split and rot, these risks are part of the contract that is signed when deciding to be a cherry producer.
Despite the intensity of the phenomenon, which in some areas of the Maule region left more than 20 mm of precipitation, producers were able to defend their orchards well using all the mitigation measures that exist, including covers, technical management, propellers, helicopters, turbo-foggers, among others.
Regarding the truckers' strike, which is not directly related to the technical and productive aspects, as it is a logistical issue, it is necessary to keep in mind that in the face of this or other types of unforeseen events, one must be alert; situations such as these, whether from a logistical, commercial, industrial, port or excess volume of fruit point of view, can occur and therefore it is necessary to continue working in the orchard to achieve the best condition and quality of fruit that can withstand any seasonal disruption.
Volumes 2022-23
In September 2022, Asoex estimated that the volume of cherries exported during the 2022-23 campaign would grow by 25% compared to the previous season; that is, approximately 90 million boxes would be sent to the different international markets, however, considering what the current cherry season has been like, it is difficult to reach this figure.
Avium statistics indicate that the productive hectare (4 years or older) of cherry trees in Chile in the last season had an average of 9.5 tons per hectare and 8.7 tons/ha in 2021, being a year of very high set and another of relatively moderate to good set; apparently, and this has been shown by the history of cherry production in Chile, after a year of high yield, there are two years of low yield, and if you do simple math and assume 8.5-8.7 tons per hectare, which correspond to the 2021-22 season, and multiply it by the 54-55 thousand productive hectares in Chile, the result is close to 75-80 million boxes of cherries and not the estimated 90 thousand.
Be careful with post-harvest
At the end of a season, various assessments are always carried out. In this case, a technical assessment is made of production, but there are also assessments at the commercial, logistical, return, etc. level. However, in the midst of the tranquility of having finished the harvest, the post-harvest should not be lost sight of.
There are a series of technical, physiological and metabolic processes that are occurring in orchards today, such as the development of post-harvest roots that will generate reserves for the new season, the formation of flowers in new fruit centers and the recovery of flowers in permanent fruit centers, among others, which are directly related to productive and technical factors that cannot be overlooked.
Monitoring spider mites is essential to ensure that they do not cause early defoliation in orchards and present a negative point in the interruption of the physiological metabolism of plant cooling and CO2 uptake for the formation of sugars. Special attention should also be paid to the whole issue of root biostimulation, foliar nutrition and soil nutrition, and irrigation, considering the latter as one of the main factors to be taken into account during post-harvest. A poor irrigation strategy can affect other management that can be carried out in the orchard and the processes specific to the season.
In short, once the harvest is over and the balance sheet is complete, the next season begins… and it is time to start again.
