The media report (see box) suggests that cherry growers in Tasmania may have issues with climate affecting the size of their fruit.
Tasmania certainly had an unseasonal heat–wave in November—the hottest for 156 years.
This event raises some interesting questions:
• If Tasmania had experienced ‘average’ conditions, what size would the cherries have been?
• What was the experience of growers in other states that had heat waves and rain?
• Was the cherry crop (in numbers of fruit per tree) higher than average? We know that over-cropping can produce smaller fruit.
• Should these conditions continue or repeat, is it likely to have a negative outcome on the reputation of Tasmania as an exporter of large cherries?
• If climate shift conditions continue, will growers gradually move their enterprise to a more cherry–friendly climate? We know that bigger growers are growing cherries in multiple locations and that that helps spread the risk of weather damage to the cherry crop.
• We know that every season is different, was this just one of those?
• How can these affects be minimized? For example, is it with netting, rain covers, or specialist irrigation techniques?
Solution lies with growers
I will not put forward any answers to this issue— it is up to the cherry industry to do that by communicating with each other within their grower organizations.
The greatest level of knowledge within the Australian cherry industry is with the growers themselves.
They are the ones who must decide if research and development projects will provide answers to the questions raised; or is it only time in the end that will resolve these issues?
Tasmanian cherry growers are reporting a bumper crop this year, but say many cherries are smaller than normal.
Producers say a hot spell followed by heavy rain caused a lot of fruit to ripen early, before the cherries were fully formed.
ABC reporters visited five properties in the north-west, north and south of Tasmania to find out how the cherry harvest was progressing.
Source: ABC Country Hour
See this article in Tree Fruit Jan 2018
