In the last 18 seasons, the evolution of Argentina's cherry production has shown a marked line of ascent, even doubling the number of tons that entered into the Central Market of Buenos Aires.
According to the MCBA's newsletter, in the last campaign, 2,423 tons of cherries arrived to market, i.e. 8% more than the 2,242 tons of the previous year.
Argentina produces approximately 6,500 tons of cherries, 80% of which are exported. The greater part, some 3,000 tons, are produced in the provinces of Neuquen and Rio Negro, with a greater offer during the month of December, when they produce 1,275.9 tons, i.e. 52.6% of the total.
The province of Rio Negro accounted for 36.3% of the total cherries that entered the market, followed by Mendoza with 34.6% and Chubut with 15.7%. In this last campaign, 9 different varieties of cherries entered into the MCBA, among which the Bing variety had a relative participation of 20.4%. This variety has a great trajectory and fame of achieving good prices, so the producers usually bet strongly on it.
Mendoza's cherry production is mainly located in the area known as the Oasis Centro, formed by the departments of Tupungato, La Consulta and Tunuyan; and the North Oasis, constituted in large part by Lujan de Cuyo, Las Heras, and Maipu, although there are also areas under development in the eastern part of the province.
During the 2017-2018 season, the harvest of the first fruits in the North Oasis began in early November, and around November 20 in the Central Oasis.
Climatic aspects
In general, the agro-climatic conditions of the 2017-2018 season were good. In winter, cherry trees require winter cold, which is measured in UTAH modified (UF) cold units. The Perdriel district registered 1593 UF and Mendoza INTA 1250 UF. Since the Bing variety needs 1180 UF to satisfy its winter requirements, the cold weather in 2017 was adequate.
In turn, as the spring heat was optimal, high percentages of fertilization and high fruit load were obtained.
The rains registered in November and December, near the harvest, showed the importance of using varieties with tolerance to some fungal diseases that mainly affected the later varieties.