Together with consultant Sebastián Johnson, who has experience with this type of harvesting in the United States – where it is a common practice – we observed in the field the advantages, opportunities and challenges that this option could present, mainly to avoid the high daytime temperatures during summer, protect workers and also the fruit, improving its condition and postharvest life.
Is it possible to harvest cherries at night in Chile?
It is a challenge, but through planning and attention it is possible, just as has happened in other sectors of the country that have managed to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This is according to Sebastián Johnson, consultant and general director of Proyectos Industriales Johnson, who has observed this type of harvesting in the United States and believes that the model could also be imported to Chile.
“We must stop seeing agriculture as if it were the third world,” he says, emphasizing that with planning and logistics it is absolutely feasible.
The reasons are far from superficial: the high temperatures recorded in summer, during the harvesting period that is mainly concentrated in December, affect both workers and fruit quality.
Cherries can in fact reach very high pulp temperatures at the moment of harvest, with a strong impact on quality and their postharvest life.
Johnson, in this trial carried out together with Redagrícola in the El Toro orchard, located in Bulnes (Ñuble region), argues that night harvesting would make it possible to stop using traditional tools that try to imitate the night, such as the wet sponges normally placed in the bins where freshly harvested cherries are deposited.
Source: Redagricola Team
Image source: Evan Abell / Yakima Herald-Republic
13 Sep 2023
The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) has issued a consumer warning through German authorities after high levels of three pesticides were detected in cherries imported from Turkey. Another alert has been notified by Denmark one week later.
15 Aug 2024
Experts claim that extreme weather variability is entirely responsible for this season's poor harvest. Governor Gretchen Whitmer is urging the federal government to declare a natural disaster for Michigan's cherry growers.
10 Nov 2026
Rain can trigger cherry cracking when water reaches microscopic fissures in the cuticle. Learn how fruit growth, cell walls, pectins, calcium and genetic differences contribute to the onset and spread of damage as cherries mature, and why similar fruits may respond differently.
10 Nov 2026
A Serbian study on Diaporthe eres shows how branch age affects lesion size and dieback in wild cherry. Older branches develop larger areas of necrosis, while tolerant trees generally show less extensive lesions and less frequent branch dieback, highlighting host tolerance.
