The mild temperatures of the past few weeks have led to an early awakening of stone fruit trees, including cherries. FreshPlaza spoke to Ignazio Tateo, owner of Tateo Srl from Turi (Bari), a company that covers 150 hectares between their own and partner orchards, producing 1500 tons of cherries in total.
Current situation of Bigarreau cherry trees
"We are one week early in Puglia, as buds are starting to grow. All trees will have blossomed by the end of the month. There are some areas within our region, such as north of Bari or other areas near the coast, where plants are at an ever more advanced stage due to the extra-early varieties that have been recently planted compared with the traditional ones found south-east of Bari."
We asked Tateo whether he believes there were enough chill hours this year. "Winter has been warm with temperatures above the average for a long time. There were very few chill hours, which is not ideal for this fruit. A change in the weather would slow things down, reducing or making us lose the advantage gained so far. Should the situation maintain like this until the end of the campaign instead, our cherries will become available on the market earlier than expected."
"Climate change continues to make us think and convince us of the fact we need to shop around to obtain high-quality products. As producers and traders of cherries, we are establishing interesting relations with international breeders such as Bloom Fresh, which as introduced new self-fertile varieties with a low need for chill hours. We will assess these cultivars over the course of the year and then proceed with the first transplants."
For further information:
Tateo Srl
SS dei Trulli
70010 Turi (BA)
(+39) 080 4514210
info@tateogroup.it
www.tateogroup.it