Chile is the main exporter of fresh cherries in the southern hemisphere. During the 2015-2016 season, Chile exported more than 83,000 tons of fresh cherries to different target markets, especially to China, the main market for Chilean cherries, which accounts for more than 90% of total exports each season.
Exporting cherries to China, and other Asian markets, is a challenge, not only because they demand a high quality fruit, safety, and good tasting products, but also because the fruit has to be able to withstand long journeys and arrive to store shelves and the consumers' tables in mint condition. The fruit must be fresh, juicy, and sweet, as if it had just been harvested from the orchards.
Given the above, and since the Chilean cherry industry expects to have a significant growth in production and exports in the near future, it is necessary to improve the fruit's competitiveness and quality. To do so, the sector is currently investing in new packaging systems, making agreements with shipping companies and airlines to accelerate shipments, and they are developing creative promotional campaigns in target markets to boost sales and knowledge of this Chilean fruit.
In addition, the industry is working on genetic improvements, which are key for the sector. The sector is working to develop its own cherry varieties that conform to the production condition of each growing area, have good performances and sizes, and can withstand long journeys to their destination while preserving their good quality and taste.
In this context, the Fruit Technology Consortium has been working on a Cherry tree Breeding Program (PMGCe) since 2010 to develop varieties of Chilean cherries that respond to the domestic industry, international markets, and consumers.
The program currently has 9.1 hectares planted in the research field of Pirque, 7.8 of which have progenies and and 1.3 of which are a genetic bank. The Consortium expects to increase the area by 8.8 hectares between 2014 and 2019. This area will have premium and standard selections.
The program is run by Dr. Marlene Ayala who, with a team of professionals, has made significant progress. During December 2016, they carried out an evaluation with representatives of the Technical Committee PMGCe of the hybrids that had a great potential to become selections.
"We have 23 thousand hybrids or seedlings planted, and we are now seeing which are the best. There are many plants that must be analyzed to see which serve us as potential varieties. We'll most probably keep 0.5% or less of these 23 thousand plants. We think that by the end of the program we will have one or two cherry varieties," Dr. Ayala told SimFRUIT.
Regarding the evaluation and selection process, the professional stated: "We started to select varieties in 2015. In 2014 we had the first progeny with fruit, but it wasn't until 2015 that we started quality assessments, which have been reinforced since 2016. The process involves a first agronomic evaluation to rule out fruit, and then a post-harvest assessment, where we simulate the journey that the fruit will undergo."
In this regard, she said that they had evaluated 605 hybrids so far, and by 2015 had 12 selections, some of which were discarded in the 2016-2017 period because they found superior hybrids in last season's assessment.
Meanwhile, Maria Fernanda Alvarez, Coordinator of the Fruit Technology Consortium, said that 34% of the fruit developed so far had an early harvest, while the remaining 66% had a midseason and late harvest. "We know how important it is for the sector to have its own cherries to continue increasing its competitiveness and exports, and we are slowly advancing to achieve this. A key aspect of this program is that the characteristics of the fruit being sought were developed with the industry, as well as the assessment of the developments achieved, all of which is essential to achieve a final product that meets the real needs of the sector," she said.
Alvarez highlighted the work of the researchers from the Catholic University, an entity that is working as a technical body in the consortium, and said that they also had the support and expertise of the Institute of Fruit Research at the National Institute of Research and Agricultural Innovation in Hungary, Naik. The PMGCe is being funded by Corfo.
"We started this collaboration with the Hungarian Institute around 2010, as Chile had some varieties from the institute that we were interested in using to begin this Breeding Program. We've been working together for 6 years, in which time we have established relationships, and used their varieties to make crosses, selecting the best varieties as parents. We, the Chileans, are conducting a second step that is very interesting for them, as we are carrying out the commercial evaluation of their varieties here in Chile," concluded Dr. Ayala.
Source: simfruit.cl