‘It will be a year marked by earliness also for the cherry orchards in the open field, given the mild temperatures recorded until a few days ago and for much of the winter period. The fruits have reached an appreciably advanced stage of veraison. We will start harvesting the Bigarreau variety next weekend (end of April), marking an advance of about two weeks compared to last season, when the first cuts were made on 10 May'.
This was reported by entrepreneur Giacomo Giotta, owner of the company of the same name in Conversano (Bari - Apulia) with 20 hectares invested in cherry trees.
The great interest in cherries was already palpable with the first Italian greenhouse productions ready at the beginning of the month, as well as the Spanish ones that later arrived on the markets with prices per kilo prohibitive for the average consumer. In Apulia, the cherry orchards are in excellent health and a good campaign is expected in terms of quantity, quality and size, thanks so far to the absence of any return of cold weather or adverse weather phenomena.
‘The cherry market appears to be quite buoyant this year,’ says the producer. ‘I believe that demands will increase in the coming days, also because a satisfying percentage of extra produce is visible on the plants. Compared to 2023, yields are higher (around +20-25%), but this increase in production will not fully compensate for the numerous explantations that have recently occurred in our areas.
Some speak of a thousand fewer hectares than a year ago. The causes are attributable not only to the spread of Drosophila suzukii, but also to the acute shortage of labour and above all to the commercial crisis we have suffered in recent years'.
Source: Freshplaza
Image: Freshplaza
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The weather factors mainly affected the first cherries of the year. The harvest will not reach its maximum production potential and will be around 8,700 tonnes out of a possible 9,500 tonnes, which is slightly above the average of the last five years.
