Quality and harvesting period considerations for Pacific Red

The variety, positioned at the beginning of the season, has gained importance because this is the first year a significant volume, around 200,000 kilos, is expected. Pacific Red is an early variety of Californian origin (SMS Program) and is one of the cultivars that has captured the attention of growers for providing alternatives to advance harvests and achieve better prices in the Chinese market.

It stands out for its round shape and a color ranging from mahogany red to dark red, with high firmness (between 80 and 85 durofel) and a sweetness above 18° Brix, with a medium-length peduncle and good attachment. “It is harvested 3-4 days after the Nimba variety. It is self-fertile and very productive and has shown excellent post-harvest performance, with outstanding suitability for sea shipments,” emphasizes Andrés Valdivieso, commercial director of ANA Chile®.

This cultivar has gained importance also because this is the first year a significant volume, around 200,000 kilos, is expected.

Image 1: Cherry cv. Pacific Red.

For this reason, ANA Chile® has begun sharing information among Pacific Red growers with technical advice and handling recommendations to “guide growers with the new varieties we are introducing to the market, providing concrete and simple information that will enable them to unlock the full potential of each variety.” This has been well received by the sector in general,” explains Valdivieso.

“Through these communications, we are particularly focused on avoiding mistakes during the initial phases, when varieties are making their market debut. With a growing fruit supply and many varietal alternatives, a strong market entry for a variety is crucial,” he explains.

The goal is to prevent the cultivar from being prematurely discredited, as this would seriously jeopardize growers’ investment and undermine the efforts of developers. “For this reason, we must remain vigilant and proactive to prevent this from happening,” states Valdivieso.

In this regard, he highlights that in the past, there have been companies “willing to sacrifice the flavor of early variety fruits to arrive a few days earlier, chasing higher prices, without understanding that a good positioning of a new product is key to its long-term success. Therefore, our role has been to work with the entire sector to preserve the prestige of new varieties,” concludes Valdivieso.

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Source: Redagrícola
Images: SL Fruit Service

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