A recent article in the Good Fruit Grower from the USA, mentioned a product made specifically to reduce rain cracking in sweet cherries.
Named Parka (presumably because it sheds water) it is made by Cultiva in Portland, Oregon, in partnership with Oregon State University (OSU).
Being an organic food-based material—a derivative of Sure Seal from OSU—Parka does not affect the taste of the fruit.
The active ingredient forms a hydrophobic bio-film over the cuticle of the cherry, minimizing cracking and allowing for expansion by the product. This provides continuous protection as the cherry rapidly expands during the final stages of growth.
More information needed
The website (www.cultivaipm.com) does not reveal any more product information; and adding ‘Parka’ to the web search only introduced me to a range of parkas for sale all over the world.
Those of us who have links to people at OSU may get more satisfaction.
If the product works well, it may be available in Australia one day. If the product works too well, the demand might be so great that it might not become available for a long time.
In the meantime, a little bit of rain cracking might not be such a bad thing, what do you think?
See this article in Tree Fruit March 2013
