The cherry harvest started two weeks before time and, since Extremadura's Jerte Valley had a very good campaign, Aragon is no longer the country's leading cherry producer. At CITA they are working to increase collection time. The cherry is a fruit that has a very short shelf life; it must be consumed in a short period of time.
Aragon continues to be the leader in fresh marketing. According to estimates, Aragon will harvest 25 to 30 million kilos of cherries this campaign. The lower yield per hectare is offset by the 1,3000 hectares increase in surface area, according to Vicente Lopez, who is responsible for UAGA Fruits. In principle, therefore, this year's harvest was good, however the spring frosts harmed some varieties, especially the early ones.
CITA research
The fruit's quality, size, production and collection times depend on the weather of the previous months, winter and spring. The CITA is investigating how climate change is affecting the stone and pome fruit. Winters have to be cold for trees to bloom normally. This process is vital for many fruit trees, although it does not affect them all in the same way.
Javier Rodrigo, Head of CITA's Horticulture Unit, said that this doesn't affect peach crops, but that it did affect cherry trees. "It is fundamental that the plantations have different varieties of trees, and above all, that their flowering coincides." According to Rodrigo, "in the years when there is less cold in winter, there may be a lag in the flowering between the varieties, which means that pollen is not available when needed so the flowers do not settle and no fruit is produced."
Other areas for cherry
Climate change is here and the CITA proposes two types of actions for the sector: renewing plant material, that is, studying varieties from other regions of the world and observing how they behave, or looking for new growing areas. One of the objectives is also to extend the harvesting period and, regarding cherries, the CITA is working on several projects. Researcher Javier Rodrigo said that they were "looking for mountainous areas so that they could harvest the cherries later and prolong that fruit's harvest up to summer. There is a project to grow cherry trees near Moncayo, and also in Mora de Rubielos. They also want to promote cultivation in the mountain areas where there already is cherry production, such as in the regions of Calatayud and Aranda." They would try to develop a brand of differentiated quality in these two districts.
Currently, Aragon's cherries are marketed throughout Spain, but they are also marketed in England, Germany, the Baltic countries, and in some Arab countries.
Source: cadenaser.es
