Roxane Flores, Director of Human Capital Development and Regulatory Affairs at AFIPA, shares her visit with Cristián Osorio, a cherry grower from Coltauco, and together they discuss the main challenges that Chilean farmers face in bringing their cherries to international markets.
AFIPA Chile, Asociación Nacional de Fabricantes e Importadores de Productos Fitosanitarios Agrícolas A.G., is the group of companies that represents the crop science and protection industry.
Since 1991, AFIPA Chile has been supporting small and medium-sized farmers across the country, helping them implement Good Agricultural Practices for the responsible management of crops and pests and the triple washing, collection, and subsequent recycling of empty phytosanitary containers, with the aim of developing an increasingly productive and sustainable agriculture.
AFIPA Chile is a member of Croplife Latin America, which brings together 25 associations from 18 countries. Croplife Latin America is part of Croplife International, which encompasses the entire crop science sector operating on five continents and adheres to the FAO Codes of Conduct.
The success of these intelligent greenhouses lies in their sophisticated monitoring and control systems. A large screen in the control room displays real-time data on temperature, humidity, light and carbon dioxide levels inside the greenhouse.
Foliar applications of calcium salts (Ca) appear to reduce cracking, but the results available to date are still uncertain. First, the effects of Ca have been attributed to a decrease in osmotic potential, resulting in decreased water uptake.
In Alicante, pre-harvest 24-BL treatments reduced sweet cherry cracking by up to 50% while improving fruit size, firmness, red color and anthocyanin content. Tests on ‘Sunburst’ and ‘Skeena’ suggest a promising strategy to protect orchards from extreme rainfall events.
In Nishikawa, Yamagata Prefecture, robots, drones and sensors promise to support winter sakura growers. Yet an aging workforce, depopulation and mistrust of technology reveal how uncertain the future of Japanese agriculture remains despite smart farming investments.