There has been a great effort by Cherry Growers Australia in recent weeks to focus growers to adequately prune for improved quality, to fine-tune nutrition for improved quality, and to assist with the management and timing of application of growth regulators for increased firmness and quality.
However, there might be some varieties or even some blocks that defy the odds, and as the fruit grows and shedding has occurred, may still have trees that are over-cropped.
Good chilling and recent rains point toward a fairly normal growing season for cherries in Australia.
The risk is, should the crop be much greater than average, then any small or poorer quality fruit may not find a home—or at least one that generates a profit for the grower.
This coming season in particular because of so many unknowns in regards to availability of labour, restricted movement of freight (particularly by air), the ability of business in hospitality to restart when the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, brings some uncertainties into the mix for the sale of fresh cherries in comparison with previous years.
How to avoid overcropping
If there seems to be an excess of cherries on the trees after fruit shed, here are a few options to reduce the amount of small fruit during harvest:
Remove handfuls of cherries from shoots that should have been removed when pruning and have now set too much blossom. This provides space for the remaining cherries to grow to a marketable size (see Figure 1).
Alternatively, shorten the growth by pruning off the wood with leaves and fruit (see Figure 1).
If a long tube of fruit is hanging almost horizontally, a serrated-edge knife is useful to slash the underside of the branch and slice-off half the cherry stems, leaving the remaining fruit with more room to grow. Doing this is better than growing small square cherries where pickers find it hard to pick because there is no room to get their fingers in to begin picking.
The other problem with a tube of fruit is that leaf growth becomes stunted—that compromises the fruit to leaf ratio and results in a lack of calcium in the cherry. Less calcium means softer fruit.
Be alert and act now
So be alert when looking at your trees and when driving or walking through the rows.
Note where action could be taken to improve the quality of your cherry crop.
By doing that, you will also be improving your bottom line.
See this article in Tree Fruit Sept 2020
