Late start to season but SA cherries will deliver

Cherry Growers Association of SA executive officer Susie Green estimates this year’s cherry season is two to three weeks behind average, due to the cold, wet spring.

“The cool weather in spring didn’t help the fruit set or pollination,” she said.

She said some warmer weather in the past few days should lead to ripening and ensure fruit is in stores ahead of the traditional Christmas sales.

Supply is also expected to be tighter this year, especially in comparison to the “absolute bumper” crop of last year.

Ms Green said some trees would have still been recovering from such a large 2015-16 crop, with this combining with windy and wet conditions during flowering, to reduce yields this season.

The wet weather also created a higher than usual fungal disease pressure, although recent warmer weather had removed some of these issues.

Despite this, she said the cherries picked so far had been “eating well”.

“It is down on yield but still good quality,” she said.

​In previous seasons, the state’s cherry surplus would be sold interstate or into South East Asia, but Mrs Green said most of this year’s crop would stay locally.

Fleurieu Cherries producers Linda and Trevor Desmond, Pages Flat, have had progress pick up this week after their own slower start to the season.

Mrs Desmond said Christmas usually marked a midway point in the season, but this year they would be hand picking well into January.

Fleurieu Cherries has 3500 trees, encompassing 25 varieties, across three hectares, with the entire crop sold through farmgate sales.

Mrs Desmond estimates the crop at their orchard will be about 75 per cent of last year’s massive crop – making it similar to their usual yields.

“For us, it has been a normal year, yield-wise,” she said.

She said there had been issues with the wet season, with some waterlogging, and increased vigilance for disease.

The weather also resulted in uneven pollination by bees, leading to staggered ripening.

She said some trees had to be picked by colour as much as four times to capture all the fruit as it ripens.

Mrs Desmond said “pick your own” was a popular option for many of their customers, but this year they have had trouble getting enough ripe fruit in the weeks before Christmas to meet their usual trade, as well as these customers.

But she said there would be plenty of fruit after Christmas, and she was hopeful families would be out again during the school holidays.

“Cherries aren’t just for Christmas,” she said. “They’re great all through summer.”