A few days after producers started harvesting cherries in the earliest areas of central and southern Chile, a new frontal system affected these areas.

The rains, which mainly affected producers in the O’Higgins and Maule region, not only damaged the fruit that was about to be harvested but also the roof structures that protected them. The president of the National Agricultural Society, Antonio Walker, published on his social networks the damages that the rains caused on the roofs and fruit. "There's cracking in early varieties such as Brooks, Royal Down, and Santina, among others," the union leader stated.

Walker said that it was too early to make damage estimates and stressed that producers were already applying fungicides and calcium chloride to prevent cracking in the fruit, in addition to using sprayers to dry the fruit quickly.

"When it rains it pours," stated Jorge Valenzuela, the president of Fedefruta. He called on producers to implement all measures to minimize damage and guarantee a good harvest season, carrying out "damage control" by preventing the exposed fruit from cracking and making sure that the trees in flowering do not have major complications for the season.

"A lot of the fruit-productive land hasn't been drained of all the water that fell in the months of June and August, so naturally it's not ready to start its respective productive work," Valenzuela stated. "This agricultural land hasn't recovered from the storms," he added.

According to the Chilean Meteorological Directorate's Weather Report, 700 mm of rain have fallen to date at the General Freire station (Curicó), a much higher volume than the 576.2 mm expected to date and the 347.7 mm recorded in 2022.

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com